Government Chemist
The Joint Knowledge Transfer Framework for Food Standards and Food Safety Analysis is a cross government funded (Government Chemist/Defra/Food Standards Agency/Food Standards Scotland) programme of knowledge transfer (KT). Its aim is to disseminate a strategic programme of scientific KT activities to support UK laboratory capability and best practice in food safety and standards analysis.
The activities delivered are aimed at upskilling laboratories, with a focus on those involved in the delivery of official controls. The framework also allows for training to be provided on new and emerging food safety and standards detection methodologies, disseminating best practice in their application and providing the tools and knowledge to respond to current and emerging analytical needs.
Activities/topics are prioritised annually to respond to intelligence-led, risk based emerging testing needs and to future-proof lab testing capability. A variety of formats are used to deliver the training, including webinars, workshops, electronic seminars (eSeminars), and work instructions. The resources developed in the programme are available in the Knowledge Resources page.
To evaluate the impact of the framework, an impact analysis was undertaken which examined the outputs for two programmes of work covering the period April 2017 To March 2023. The results of the analysis clearly illustrate that the Joint Knowledge Transfer Framework provides an efficient and effective collaborative mechanism to deliver strategic KT to positively influence UK food analysis laboratory capability and knowledge.
The impact report is available on this page