Playing a key role in safeguarding the quality of our food and drinking water, the Public Analyst’s Laboratory underpins food safety systems in the Republic of Ireland.
As recently as the late nineteenth century Dublin had the highest death rate from infectious diseases in Europe. To help counter this, Dr Charles Cameron was appointed as the first Public Analyst for Dublin. Later, a progressive health policy was adopted in the Republic of Ireland. Today, the country has a total of ten food safety health laboratories, including three Public Analyst’s Laboratories (PALs) which perform chemical testing, and seven Official Food Microbiology Laboratories (OFMLs). One of these OFMLs is integrated in the Public Analyst’s Laboratory, Dublin making it unique in that it provides both a chemical and microbiological analytical service.
Rosemary Hayden, Interim Public Analyst at Dublin’s PAL, explains: “The statutory role of the PAL is to test food and cosmetics for compliance with relevant legislation and guidelines. We have a vital role in food safety, providing objective scientific evidence for the safety and quality of food we eat. We analyse samples of food, water, clinical specimens, cosmetic products, environmental and miscellaneous items. An important aspect is responding to new and emerging contaminants and toxins and extending existing parameters to new matrices and sample types.”
Rosemary has a B.Sc. in Chemistry as well as a M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry and a M.Sc. in Management Practice. She has held a v ariety o f r oles i n t he PAL including Quality Manager and Health and Safety Manager and took up the position of Interim Public Analyst in October 2016. Rosemary holds a Specialist Diploma in Quality Management - Lean Healthcare Systems and has recently been awarded a Diploma in Executive and Life Coaching.
The laboratory is approved under the control of foodstuffs legislation EU Regulation 178/ 2002, which details the general principles and requirements of food law and procedures in matters of food safety. Its wide range of customers include the Health Service Executive, the Environmental Health Service, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, other Government departments and Local Authorities, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, safefood, the general public, hospitals and private food companies. The laboratory is also the EU National Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials, Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Mycotoxins including Plant Toxins.
Food fraud is also an important part of the laboratory’s remit. “The horse meat scandal in 2013 really increased public awareness of food fraud and how widespread it can be. When dealing with these issues the fraud may or may not affect public health but on all occasions it deceives the customer and damages industry. Two projects in which the laboratory is involved relate to Manuka honey and vodka. The Manuka honey issue is a worldwide one. There is more sold annually than can be physically produced in New Zealand so we need to verify authenticity and quality. A chemical called methylglyoxal is the active ingredient and it has antibacterial and antiviral activity. The level of methylglyoxal needs to be checked to ensure the honey is genuine Manuka honey and the customer is getting the quality for which s/he is paying. For vodka, this has become a local issue in Ireland with a considerable amount of illegal vodka on sale here. In this case a number of tests have been devised to verify the authenticity of the vodka, including, in some cases, specific markers unique to the brands under test.”
The laboratory is also responsible for testing drinking water and bottled water (which comes under the auspices of food from a legislative point of view). “We perform analysis of drinking water supplies and testing according to drinking water legislation. This includes the testing of water for fluoride and we also analyse the acid that is used to fluoridate water. In addition, samples such as bottled water and water for hospital renal dialysis are tested.”
The Laboratory is ISO 17025 accredited and has a flexible scope with the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) meaning that it can develop some of its accredited testing as needed. “With a fixed scope if we wanted to, for example, add extra matrices to a test to extend our scope we would need to wait until the INAB come to assess the validation data. As a flexible scope has been awarded and the agreed procedure is followed we can report results in real time as accredited and INAB examines the validation data retrospectively at the next visit.”
Looking towards 2018, Rosemary is currently involved in the preparation of a new food sampling plan as well as assessing the overall strategy for the laboratory: “I am looking at the current operational needs and future plans of the laboratory. There is a high level of expertise and teamwork. We have an extensive training programme for staff including training provided by safefood which is greatly appreciated.”
About Rosemary
Hobbies/Interests: I am a member of a book club and my other interests include music and interior design.
Favourite food: I like French food, Italian food and vegetarian dishes. I love to cook.
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