AFBI Veterinary Sciences Experts join International Committees

Two of AFBI's Veterinary Scientists Anna Gadaj and Tom Ford have gained membership of two International Committees.

AFBI’s Anna Gadaj (Chemical Surveillance Branch) has been selected for inclusion in the 2023-2027 expert roster of the Joint (FAO/WHO) Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). JECFA is an international expert scientific committee administered jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Since 1956, JECFA delivers scientific advice for the establishment of the global food safety standards in the area of food additives, contaminants, naturally occurring toxins and residues of veterinary drugs in food.

JECFA has developed expert-driven safety assessment of chemicals in food that are consistent with current principles of risk assessment and take account of recent developments in toxicology and other relevant scientific areas i.e. exposure assessment, food chemistry including analytical chemistry, and assessment of maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs.

To 2018, JECFA has evaluated approximately 40 contaminants and residues of 90 veterinary drugs. Scientific advice provided by JECFA is used by risk policy makers and food safety regulators at both international and national level in aim to protect consumer health and ensure global trade of safe food.

Tom Ford (TB Immunology) has been appointed as a member of the BSI (British Standards institute) committee: on Animal health: diagnostic analysis. This committee mirrors a CEN European committee which is developing new standards around laboratory analysis in animal health, specifically around standardisation of the quality of test reagents prior to going to market and the batch control of approved reagents.

In this role Tom has been working alongside UK and international colleagues to draft new European standards for the control of diagnostics in animal health. The European working group has expert delegations from several European countries as well as input and perspective from industry representatives.

AFBI diagnostic laboratories make use of many diagnostic kits and by establishing control parameters and standardising procedures at a European level this initiative will enhance the quality and consistency of diagnostic products across the veterinary market and improve efficiency of compliance for manufacturers across multiple countries.

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