Food Standards Agency
Sunday 5 July 2009
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Listen to this siteDetails of the Agency-funded radiological emergencies research programme.
This Programme is currently being reviewed.
Objectives
The primary objective of the Food Contamination Emergencies Programme is to develop the capability of the Food Standards Agency to respond rapidly and effectively to emergencies where the accidental release of radioactive materials and/or toxic chemicals may affect the safety of the food chain. The programme has now been separated into two programmes, one for radioactive materials (C05) and one for chemical contaminants (C06).
The C05 programme contributes to the Agency’s strategy on the safety of food, and ensures that the Agency can continue to issue sound, precautionary advice if necessary and take appropriate action to protect consumers in the event of a radiological incident.
Issues
Contamination of food by radioactive materials may be direct or occur via an indirect route, such as animal feeding stuffs. The scale and type of these incidents can vary greatly, but certain attributes of effective response are always necessary, including the ability to rapidly gather and assess information, to quickly assess the hazard and to take appropriate steps to protect public health.
This programme seeks to improve the Agency's knowledge, tools and skills in these areas in order for the Agency to develop and maintain a core team for emergency response and therefore to protect the public from any adverse effects from potential incidents via the food pathway. This will be achieved by:
The programme is regularly reviewed and evolves, as necessary, to ensure it fits with the Agency's overall requirements. The long-term output will be to allow the Agency to make rapid judgements on the potential impact of radionuclides on the food chain. It will allow us to manage rapidly and effectively the consequences in terms of food safety and thus provide targeted and easily understandable advice to the public on any potential risks.
Name
: Cathy Alexander
Tel
: 020 7276 8768
Email
:
cathy.alexander@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
A review of radiological research in the Effects of Radioactivity in the Environment (R01), Support of Radiological Surveillance (R02) and Radiological Emergencies (C05) programmes took place during 2003. The review covered five years and was carried out by a panel of five experts independent from the FSA and its contractors.
Information about Agency-funded research projects.
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