UK National Measurement Laboratory (NML) at LGC

Our laboratories will be closed and we will be out of office from 24 December- 2 January to celebrate the holiday season and recharge🔋📴 We will be back to work as usual in the New Year!🧪🧬 #happyholidays

Wishing you all a Joyous Holiday Season! As the year comes to an end, we want to express our gratitude to all of our partners, networks and collaborators for helping us to make 2024 a great year! Here's to a bright and prosperous 2025 providing measurement science to support growth and innovation✨🧬🔬 #MeasurementMatters #SeasonsGreetings

Boosting food safety standards: Examples of sampling approaches employed by the FSA An e-seminar produced as part of the Joint Knowledge Transfer Framework for Food Standards and Food Safety Analysis (funded by Food Standards Agency, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Food Standards Scotland and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology via the Government Chemist) provides information to promote a better understanding of different sampling approaches that can be used in different situations. Whether you are in the food industry, policy or passionate about public heath, this is an invaluable resource to understand how sampling processes support food safety. https://okt.to/WQA2Uw #GovernmentChemist #foodsafety

As the holiday season approaches, so does the joy of gathering with friends and family. Yet, it is also a time when seasonal illness like the flu and COVID-19 can spread.🤒 Accurate and reliable #diagnostics play a critical role in keeping everyone safe during this time of year. Early and precise detection not only ensures timely treatment but also helps prevent the spread of illness to loved ones. Working closely with the wider measurement community, and national and global policy and healthcare officials, we are establishing a framework for assurance of accurate diagnostics tests to ensure safe, effective, reliable and rapid diagnostics, supporting wide-scale public health. As the first line of defence in protecting our health- and the health of those we care about- accurate and earlier diagnostic testing has the potential to reduce disease spread and allow safe celebration during the holidays. Find out more about our work to support accurate diagnostics- https://okt.to/qC6oSu

Recommendations for developing a framework for point of contact food testing: an e-seminar presented by NML's @Malcolm Burns and @Gavin Nixon As part of the Food Standards Agency Food for Thought seminar series, industry experts Malcolm Burns and Gavin Nixon presented results from a current review of the potential for point of contact technology for food testing for both official controls and the wider food sector. In the seminar, they provided an overview of key terms, technologies, trends and barriers to adoption, and provide recommendations to further develop a framework to support point of contact food testing. Watch the recording here- https://okt.to/QNWr7J

The holidays bring excitement for children, with toys taking center stage as symbols of joy and giving. Amid the festivities, toy safety standards play a crucial role in ensuring that the excitement remains joyful- and free from harm. Every year, thousands of new toys hit the shelves. Standards help ensure that toys are free from, toxic materials, choking risks, sharp edges and small parts that can pose a danger to young children. Ian Axford is a member of BSI Toy Safety Committee and CEN Safety of Toys- Chemical Working Group and has extensive expertise in developing toy safety standards. Our scientists have been at the forefront in developing chemical test methods for toys since the UK Toys (Safety) Regulation was first published in 1967 setting concentration limits for toxic metals in paint coatings including lead, cadmium, arsenic, antimony, chromium and barium with a corresponding test method. The EN 71-3 toy standard developed from the test method described in the 1967 Regulation is used by manufacturers to apply UKCA or CE marks demonstrating conformity with safety requirements in the EU and GB markets. The wrapping of toys should never turn into an emergency- standards are helping to keep the holidays safe and full of cheer. #Toysafety #holidays #measurementmatters

The holiday season is a time for celebration, connection and enjoying good food and drinks. While we gather around the table to celebrate this time we expect our food and drinks to be safe.🎇🥧 Our reference materials underpin complex measurements, allowing food and beverage manufacturers to ensure their products are safe. Our reference materials support allergen detection, food safety testing and quality control. For information on our food and beverage reference materials, visit our website- https://okt.to/ejGsdM and purchase our materials here- https://okt.to/rjW5vM Many of our reference materials fall under LGC’s accreditation to ISO 17034 as a reference material producer and their characterisation is underpinned by analytical methods accredited to ISO/IEC 17025. #ReferenceMaterials #Foodsafety

We are hiring! 🙌 We are looking for the right person to join our molecular biology group at the UK National Measurement Laboratory (NML) at LGC working on the most advanced measurement science research into DNA and RNA analysis. As part of our role as the UK's designated institute for Chemical and Biological Measurement Analysis our group conducts work, under the National Measurement System (https://okt.to/OARvlS), to advance and ensure accuracy in bioanalysis. Successful candidates will get to work with some of the most cutting-edge technology available for molecular analysis and do this as part of a fantastic and growing global network of biological measurement institutes. Our remit is to improve methodological accuracy, and we work with a diverse network of stakeholders on topics ranging from cancer genomics, infectious disease diagnosis, food testing, engineering biology to environmental DNA analysis. If you are interested, please apply here https://okt.to/cAGBSo 👈

Exciting opportunity to get involved in the 23IND13 ScreenFood Project!   We are excited to be involved in this #MetPart project. ScreenFood focuses on advancing sustainable food packaging solutions by developing reference methods and materials for quantifying contaminants (such as #PFAS) in food and food packaging. These metrological tools will support food and packaging industries to maintain a high level of food safety through production and distribution.   Join the project consortium to be support the projects success and real-world impact. Interested? Register below to get involved. Christopher McElroy Konstantinia Karametsi steve corless Sarah Hill EURAMET - The European Association of National Metrology Institutes

We are delighted to be involved in this European metrology project.   #MetroPOEM is supporting the European Green Deal's goal of a 'toxic-free environment' and 'reducing water pollution' by developing certified reference materials for mass spectrometry to monitor radioactive pollution in the environment. Find out more below.   Dmitriy Malinovskiy (NML lead scientist) Sarah Hill Heidi Goenaga-Infante #EMPIR