Waters Corporation and the University of Maryland have announced that they have formed a partnership to establish the first facility in the world to train scientists from foreign governments and manufacturers on the state-of-the-art methods of analysis that will help them meet U.S. food safety standards. When it opens next year, the International Food Safety Training Laboratory (IFSTL) will be operated by the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), a collaboration between the University of Maryland and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The USA imports more than $80 billion worth of food from 150 countries, which is approximately 15% of the U.S.A. food supply. The IFSTL, based at the University of Maryland, will provide science based, hands-on training that supports the FDA’s food safety goals. The IFSTL will train scientists to detect both chemical and microbiological contaminants.
Several Members of Congress have applauded Waters efforts and leadership in the creation of the IFSTL, noting the importance of food safety issues. “Food safety issues are vital in today’s growing global marketplace. The creation of the International Food Safety Training Laboratory will help protect consumers. By training scientists here at home and abroad, we can work together towards a common goal of an internationally sound food safety testing system. I applaud Waters Corporation and am proud that a Massachusetts company is yet again leading the way in global scientific advances,” said Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
The University of Maryland is very excited about this innovative partnership through the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition,” said President C. D. Mote, Jr. “This collaboration is a superb example of how the public and private sectors can maximize their impact by combining their strengths. The new programs have excellent potential for improving food safety internationally.”
Waters Corporation creates business advantages for laboratory dependent organizations by delivering practical and sustainable innovation to enable significant advancements in such areas as healthcare delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality worldwide. Waters had a sales revenue of $1.5 billion in 2009 and employs 5,200 people.
JIFSAN was founded in 1996 by the University of Maryland and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, JIFSAN is a multidisciplinary research, education and outreach program. Its mission is to advance sound strategies that improve public health, food safety, applied nutrition and animal health using risk analysis principles. It has developed strong partnerships with government agencies, industry, academia and public interest groups. It has trained more than 2,500 food safety professionals from 27 countries.