PTIN Workshop on Laboratory Capacity Building

Date: August 25-26, 2011
Location: Bangkok, Thailand

This two-day APEC FSCF PTIN endorsed laboratory capacity building workshop sponsored by the United States and held in Thailand focused on the prioritization of laboratory capacity building needs and highlighted the Global Context of Food Safety stressing the importance of laboratory capacity to industry, international trade, and public health. An APEC PTIN laboratory capacity assessment was discussed, and three training modules covering APEC laboratory capacity building priority areas will be presented.

For more information, contact: Janet Leak-Garcia, janet.leak-garcia@fas.usda.gov, (202) 690-3327

DOCUMENTS & PRESENTATIONS

APEC Lab Capacity Building Info Sheet

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Agenda

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Final Report

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DAY 1

Global Context of Food Safety

Dr. Hans-Joachim Huebschmann, Thermo Fisher

OBJECTIVE: Why testing is important to achieve food safety and why we do testing. Highlight the intricacies involved in establishing and maintaining food safety laboratory capacity for multiple laboratory types in accordance with multiple national regulations and Codex guidelines.

Importance of Laboratory Capacity to Trade/Industry

Shannon Cole, Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)

OBJECTIVE: Importance of proper laboratory testing and its economic impacts for import/export.

Importance of Laboratory Capacity: Public Health Implications

Dr. Lalith Goonatilake, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

OBJECTIVE: Explain positive impacts of proper testing on public health (i.e. fewer hospitalizations, deaths). Emphasis on importance of reducing false negatives (with testing from both partners); shared burden ultimately increases surveillance.

Importance of Laboratory Capacity: Specialist Regional Bodies' (SRB) Perspective:

Dr. SK Wong, Government Laboratory Hong Kong, APMP

OBJECTIVE: Provide economies with information on where and how they can improve their laboratory capacity. The need for ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard accreditation. Highlight how this standard has both management and technical requirements and that through customer focus the management requirements will drive the technical requirements through the concept of 'fit for purpose.'

Economic Support and Sustainability of Labs

Dr. Laurie Besley, National Measurement Institute (NMI), Australia

OBJECTIVE: Importance of economic support of labs. Stress importance of knowing customer and their requirements in order to ensure customer driven income and acquisition of appropriate equipment.

APEC Laboratory Capacity Assessment Results

Dr. Alejandro Echeverry, Texas Tech University

OBJECTIVE: Broad overview of the food safety laboratory capacity assessment findings. This will be followed by more in-depth presentation of preliminary results on Day 2 and Roundtable discussions on where the FSCF/PTIN can add value.

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TRAINING SECTION 1

Management Systems

Management Systems

Moderator - Darryl Sullivan, Covance, AOAC

OBJECTIVE: Elements of continuous improvement, the importance of management driven systems and the need for customer focus. Understand critical role of quality assurance in ensuring that laboratories accurately detect and quantify food safety risks. Underscore importance of validating methods according to internationally accepted standards such as ISO 17025 for ensuring food safety and facilitating trade. Underscore importance of method validation, measurement uncertainty, internal quality control and traceability, and accreditation.

High Level Importance: ISO 17025 Microbiology compliance

Thamolwan Laovittayanurak, 3M Thailand

OBJECTIVE: Reinforce participants’ knowledge of technical principles of ISO 17025 and attitudes required for successful performance in food safety. Emphasize that the overwhelming majority of food poisoning incidents are caused by microbial contamination and thus food microbiology laboratories are of critical importance in the risk assessment process. Ramifications of a wrong result in the food safety risk analysis process such as the recent case in Germany where Spanish cucumbers were incorrectly identified as the cause of E.coli 0104 poisoning.

High Level Importance: ISO 17025 Chemical compliance

Darryl Sullivan, Covance, AOAC

Darryl Sullivan, Covance, AOAC OBJECTIVE: Reinforce participants’ knowledge of chemical technical principles of ISO 17025 and attitudes required for successful performance in food safety. Gaining analytical chemistry expertise through practice and experience. Principles of the process of equipment qualification.

Importance of Reference Materials and Where to get them

WW Wong, Hong Kong Accreditation Service (HKAS)

OBJECTIVE: Discuss importance of using internationally competent, regional/certified food reference materials and sources to obtain secondary reference materials

Quality Assurance: Case Study: Thailand

Boonme Kanjanopas, Betagro

OBJECTIVE: Lessoned learned from validating temperature controlled equipment in microbiological testing labs including incubators, water baths, ovens and refrigerators: Calibration, uncertainty

Risk Surveillance Case Study: Thailand Model

Dr. Panadda Silva, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand

OBJECTIVE: Provide a concept and success model of how Thailand is using test kits as a scanning tool for food safety risk surveillance in the community by local authorities.

DAY 2

TRAINING SECTION 2

Fit-for-Purpose Analytical Methods

Moderator: Dr. Panadda Silva, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand

Understand how fit-for-purpose analytical methods can be either an effective food Safety control mechanism or an administrative impediment to trade.

A Comprehensive Approah to Fit-for-Purpose Analytical Methods

Dan Schmitz, Abbott Nutrition

OBJECTIVE: Provide an overview of the AOAC Stakeholder Panel process followed by a description of the key process elements: 1) Development of Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPRs), 2) Down-selection of methods, 3) Method validation, and 4) Performance verification (i.e., collaborative study). A case study will be provided on the AOAC SPIFAN (Stakeholder Panel on Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals) initiative.

Fit-for-Purpose Analytical Methods: Case Study

Dr. Henry Chin, Coca Cola

OBJECTIVE: Examine current issues in determining appropriate analytical methods to educate government laboratory managers on the link between fit-for-purpose methods and effective food Safety management: DEHP contamination.

Unavailable

TRAINING SECTION 3

Sampling, Data Analysis and Data Interpretation

Moderator: Maria Estela Ayala, Instituto Tecnológico Pesquero (ITP), Peru

Tie-in of prior fit-for-purpose section to food safety/public health being introduced in this section. The process approach as an integral part of the implementation of a laboratory management system.

Importance of Structured Sampling Plans and Accurate Product Sampling

Dr. Emilio Esteban, USDA/Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

OBJECTIVE: Overview of good sampling techniques/practices and statistical aspects of sampling (i.e. how many samples should we take), data analysis and examples: CODEX recommended methods for validation of qualitative and quantitative food safety sampling and sampling plans.

Importance of International Standards and MRLs and MLs for Accurate Data Analysis

Pisan Pongsapitch, National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACSF), Thailand

OBJECTIVE: Discuss how international standards in Safety control limits (MRLs, MLs) are essential in facilitating safe food trade.

Data for Public Health Decision Making

Maria Estela Ayala, ITP Peru

OBJECTIVE: Examine data interpretation and how data is actually used to make real life decisions related to food safety. Limit of Detection (LOD) vs. Limit of Quantification (LOQ) for data analysis and method validation. Determining public health and safety issues and avoiding false alarms. Importance of the measurement uncertainty in decision making and its critical role in risk assessment.

Roundtable on FSCF/PTIN Way Forward in Lab Capacity Building

Dr. Laurie Besley, NMI Australia

OBJECTIVE: Break up into smaller groups and based on the assessment results discussion, provide concrete recommendations to the PTIN on which priority areas to focus on to add value, what order would prove most beneficial and appropriate performance measures to use.

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • May 15-16, 2023, APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum (FSCF) PTIN Workshop on Risk Communication Related to Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), Detroit, Michigan
  • May 17, 2023 FSCF PTIN Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and Laboratory Capacity Building of Environmental Testing for Foodborne Pathogens Workshop, Detroit, Michigan
  • May 18, 2023 FSCF Public Private Innovation Dialogue, Detroit, Michigan
  • May 19 2023, FSCF Conference, Detroit, Michigan

RECENT EVENTS

  • FSCF PTIN Pesticide MRL Harmonization: A Trade Facilitative Approach to MRL Compliance, December 16-17, 2020, Virtual
  • FSCF PTIN Success Stories from FSCF Export Certificate Reductions, Expected February 2021, Virtual
  • FSCF PTIN Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) Document Digitalization, What Industry and Government Need: Three Seminars to Collect Perspectives on E-Certification in the Past and Future, Expected Spring 2021, Virtual
  • FSCF PTIN Whole Genome Sequencing: Laboratory Capacity Building for Environmental Food Safety Testing Workstream
    • Virtual Awareness Webinars in early 2021,
    • How WGS has revolutionized food safety: from environmental sampling to foodborne disease prevention, response, and mitigation, May 2021, Virtual
    • Sub-Regional In-Lab Trainings, July 2021-October 2022,
    • Teach-Forward by Training Participants, September 2021-December 2022
    • Workshop for Food Safety Experts and Policymakers, presentations by ToTs, May 2023
  • Food Safety Cooperation Forum, 2021, Virtual
  • FSCF Partnership Training Institute Network Steering Group, 2021, Virtual

Virtual FSCF Framework on Risk Communication, Workshop 2

December 2-3, 2020

Virtual

Virtual FSCF Framework on Risk Communication, Workshop 1

July 24, 2020

Virtual