Our role is about understanding problems and enabling sustainable solutions through innovative thinking and the gathering and analysis of robust scientific evidence. This gives us the right platform to support our customers in both the strategic and day-to-day decisions they face.

Fera has worked with a wide range of industry leading partners in the food and environmental sector to deliver innovative tools and research needed by companies to create a more sustainable and profitable business. Examples of some of these key innovations include OriGen, HorizonScan, Pesticide Usage Surveys and Soil Health Unit.

OriGen

Fera have developed a dedicated Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) service for the food industry. We are combining our expertise in food microbiology, DNA sequencing and analysis to provide an end-to-end service that will help the industry to rapidly identify and understand sources of contamination.

Benefits to Industry

• Prevent future outbreaks and recalls
• Demonstrate due diligence to customers after any event
• Fewer audits
• Identify or suggest external sources of contamination
• Easily compare across multiple events from different time periods

HorizonScan

HorizonScan monitors global food integrity issues, allowing you to plan and ensure consumer safety and protect brand identity supply chain issues. hese issues can range from fraud and authenticity concerns, pesticide or veterinary drug residues, environmental and other contaminants, microbiological problems or allergens.

Benefits to Industry

• Identify food safety threats early
• Research your suppliers worldwide
• Access 15+ years of historical data
• Protect your brand and reputation
• Get food safety threat e-alerts

Pesticide Usage Surveys

Fera is commissioned by the independent Expert Committee on Pesticides and funded by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate to conduct the pesticide usage survey.

The data is collected from Arable, soft fruit, vegetable and protected edible crops are surveyed biannually with grassland and fodder crops surveyed every four years.

The datasets contain details of pesticide usage on each crop in terms of weight, area and the percentage treated with specific active substances including conventional pesticides, biopesticides, and living biocontrol organisms.

Benefits to Industry

• Analyse and predict the latest risks and trends
• See how customers use your products are used
• Create new revenue streams from analysing your market and its competitors
• 50 years of historical data, one of the largest in the agrochemical and plant protection industry

Soil Health Unit

The Soil Health Unit aims to improve understanding of soil management and its effects on crop health and threat control. Our work involves investigating the interactions between soil condition, crops, water and biotic stress – and the environmental factors that influence them.

Soil testing enables more precision farming practices to be delivered and it helps farmers and agronomists to understand the biological diversity of soils in relation to both plant health and productivity.

Benefits to Industry

• Identify the most suitable crop and variety for the available land and conditions
• Minimise the need for pesticides, potentially reducing costs and increasing yield
• Understand the levels and distribution of pathogens in the field
• Anticipate the risk of disease before planting the next crop