First International Food Safety Training Laboratory to teach 200 professionals per year

The first International Food Safety Training Laboratory (IFSTL) to educate 200 professionals per year, Tengrinews.kz reports. The Lab, officially opened in September, was created by the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the University of Maryland, and Waters Corporation. The IFSTL trains scientists to understand methods of food testing for compliance with regulatory standards. The Lab is self-sustaining, funded through student fees. Training is delivered by experts from FDA, other U.S. federal agencies, JIFSAN and university scientists. State-of-the-art equipment is used to train on validated methods. The students detect, confirm and quantitate chemical contaminants, toxins and pathogenic microorganisms. Approximately 200 professionals per year are expected to participate in the self-supporting program. In June the IFSTL hosted a pilot class with representatives from Central and South America to help meet training requirements established in the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement. In September a group from China and Indonesia was trained. According to the experts, lots of governments are interested in sending their scientists to the IFSTL. IFSTL courses will also touch on the new U.S. food safety standards contained in the Food Safety Modernization Act, and U.S. regulations, and courses will be taught in consultation with U.S. food safety regulatory agencies, they resumed.