New legislation requires new technologies and Una McCormack, Technical Consultant with Mérieux NutriSciences, explains the implications of the new maximum levels of per-and polyfuoroalkyl substances
Una McCormack is a Technical Consultant with Mérieux NutriSciences, a Kildare-based company offering practical testing and consulting to food and beverage manufacturers, processors, caterers, and retailers.
A native of Ennistymon in county Clare, Una studied Applied Science Microbiology in GMIT. After graduation, she joined Dairygold CMP (Cork Milk Producers) Dairy Laboratory. “It was a liquid milk plant in Cork city which produced a range of dairy products, and my first role was a laboratory technician. Later in my career, I was promoted to laboratory manager.” Her daily duties included the routine testing of milk and dairy products, and as quality manager, maintaining the quality system and supervising laboratory staff. Una moved to Nutrition Supplies, then Enva, and subsequently Advanced Laboratory Testing (ALT) where she worked in consultancy and sales.
Mérieux NutriSciences acquired ALT in 2019. “I am a Technical Consultant based in the Cork office, and my role is advisory. If you are a food producer and you need to get a product tested, I can advise on the tests required to comply with legislation or other food safety criteria. Shelf-life testing is part of the work we do. Products placed on the marketplace with a ‘use by’ date or a ‘best before’ date have to be shelf life tested and that’s done through microbiological methods and laboratory testing.” Una’s client base is across the full spectrum, ranging from small through to large food producers, and planned sampling and sample collections form part of her daily routine. “The results generated from our testing may need to be reviewed and communicated to the client in easy to-understand terms.” Constant communication with clients on testing queries, liaising with head office for sample collection scheduling, informing clients about procedures for sample handling, environmental testing i.e. swabs, water sampling, and administrative duties are all part of her working day.
The ongoing introduction of new food products and ingredients means there is no room for complacency, she says. “The advent of novel foods such as plant-based products, fermented products, and meat alternatives coming onto the marketplace and gaining popularity brings a new aspect to the role, requiring learning about them and the standards surrounding the production of them.”
And Irish food operators are far from complacent, she believes. “The awareness of food safety is excellent in Ireland. The challenge for the food producer is learning how to meet the requirements. They know it has to be done, but we are often asked to help them go about it. If they have an inspection and they are advised to get sampling done to comply with legislation, a client may need assistance to proceed, and this is where I or safefood or the Food Safety Authority of Ireland can help them to move forward. We also work closely with independent food safety consultants who engage with clients directly in this regard.” Once testing is complete, understanding the results can present its own challenges. “Often what I hear is, ‘I have mycertificate of analysis, but I don’t know what the numbers mean.’” While the role of a laboratory is primarily to analyse and report results, she says, food businesses, particularly smaller producers, cannot be expected to be familiar with all the technical and scientific terms used on a test certificate.
“In addition, the legislation and guidelines may be daunting to read or understand initially. Clients need to be made aware of resources available and published guidelines. Accessing information for the client so that they can be reassured and fully understand what is required of them to comply with legislation or other food safety criteria is of the utmost importance. It’s to help them understand their results so they can read them going forward.” She highlights the training and webinars provided by safefood as hugely important and an
easy-to-access resource.
One of the latest challenges facing the industry is the regulation for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of nearly 5,000 synthetic chemicals considered persistent contaminants. Used in the industry for their stability and oilrepellent properties, they are extremely difficult to degrade in humans and in the environment. New regulation has introduced maximum levels of PFAS on certain foodstuffs, specifically products of animal origin: egg, meat, fish and their derivatives, making their determination mandatory in the concerned food products. In addition, the Commission Recommendation (EU) 2020/1431 extends the monitoring to a list of 28 analytes, also in fruits and vegetables and food for infants and young children, with very low target limit of quantifications (LOQ).
New legislation such as this requires new technologies and it’s vital to get the test accredited as quickly as possible, she says.
“Mérieux NutriSciences is proud to be the first laboratory in Europe accredited for PFAS testing with screening offered for the four main PFAS and offering the required limit of quantification of one part per trillion (1PPT) – extremely low levels in line with what is demanded by the legislation.”
Allergen testing is another area that requires constant vigilance, she says, citing Natasha’s Law. “It’s critical to keep on top of that as more allergens come to the fore. Legislation is constantly changing, whether it’s new allergens or new contaminants, and you have to keep up with it – last year’s tests may not be sufficient for this year.” Food substitution is another area of concern. “Current circumstances, such as the war in Ukraine, mean that people are trying to source ingredients and materials from different and new suppliers. Food business operators might be used to a certain supplier with a specification, and moving to a new supplier means you may have to get packaging or ingredients tested before you use it.”
Comments