As concerns over climate change grow, the food and drink industry has been developing new food packaging to reduce the environmental impact of fossil-derived plastics. But it’s not always easy. Not only must they ensure these new materials are safe for food contact, they must also provide adequate barrier properties to protect the packaged foodstuff from the external environment. Read more

Food production is a complex process resulting in a significant number of chemical reactions. These reactions produce ‘compounds of interest’, on which regulatory authorities have set acceptable and unacceptable levels – often referred to as maximum residue limits (MRLs). Read more

World population has increased from one billion in 1800 to 7.7 billion today. During this period, the use of pesticides has played a critical role to protect crops from insects, weeds, diseases and moulds, ensuring that food supply keeps up with the increasing demand. Read more

Fera Science Ltd has been working in collaboration with the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), all of our region’s local authorities and partner organisations region-wide to develop a plan to reshape the region’s economy in order to address the challenges and opportunities arising from the pandemic. Our shared vision is that the region will emerge greener, fairer and stronger as a direct result of the economic reshaping plan. Read more

We are delighted to announce that the journal ‘Plant Pathology’ has awarded the Best Student Paper prize for 2020 to Ines Vazquez-Iglesias from Fera Science Ltd. Read more

A recent amendment to the UK Agricultural Bill, tabled by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture and backed by a cohort of leading UK research institutes, proposed the acceptance of gene edited (GE) crops and livestock in UK agriculture – ultimately in UK produced food. Read more

In recent years, the media has highlighted multiple examples of food being contaminated by what we call ‘food contact materials’ (FCMs). This definition includes packaging or any materials that can come into contact with food during its life cycle. Examples of contamination include bisphenol A and phthalates from plastic packaging and containers, primary aromatic amines from nylon kitchenware and formaldehyde from melamine kitchenware. Read more

Fera has been at the forefront of raising awareness on the frailty of African plant health and biosecurity and the gains to be achieved in building national capacity. Read more

Grapevines can be affected by one or more GTDs at the same time, for example two of the common diseases on young vines (less than five years old) known as Petri Disease and Black foot can both result in overall stunting, delayed bud break, shortened internodes, yellowing or chlorotic foliage with brown or necrotic margins and wilting of leaves or entire shoots. Read more

During July and August 2020 UK plant health authorities became aware through social media of members of the public in the UK receiving packets of seed which had not been ordered by them. Read more