Analysis for health, safety and quality
LGC
LGC became a privately owned independent company in 1996 but the organisation has existed for over 150 years and was formerly known as the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.
A move from central London
In 1989 LGC moved from central London to a purpose built laboratory and office facility in Teddington. In addition to this head office in Teddington, LGC now also operates from a number of other locations across UK, Europe and India and employs over 1000 staff.
Problem solving
LGC??s scientists carry out many different types of chemical and biochemical analysis. The analyses are always carried out to help answer a particular question or solve a problem. LGC has customers from many different organisations who come to us with a wide variety of questions. Some examples include:
- A crime scene investigator who needs to know if there is any DNA present on items recovered from a crime scene which could help to identify a suspect.
- An abattoir manager who needs to have carcasses tested to make sure they are not infected with BSE (??mad cow disease??) before they are passed into the food chain.
- A trading standards officer who has had a complaint about the labelling on a foodstuff and needs to check that the consumer is not being misled.
- A manufacturer of childcare items who needs to make sure that their products comply with the relevant European product safety standards.
Crime scene DNA
Scientists in LGC??s Scene of Crime laboratories produce DNA profiles from items submitted from crime scenes. Modern analytical techniques allow DNA profiles to be generated from small amounts of material such as spots of blood on clothing or cells contained in saliva on cigarette butts.
BSE testing
Since November 2001, LGC has had a contract with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to provide BSE testing on certain categories of cattle to ensure that the meat is safe to enter the food chain. The carcasses of cattle aged over 30 months have to be tested to ensure that they are free from BSE. Since 2001, LGC has tested over 1 million samples for Defra.
Food sciences
When you do your shopping, you may look at the labelling on foods to help you decide which items to buy. Food packaging now carries a large amount of information ?? not only the list of ingredients but also nutritional labelling. This information is only useful if the consumer has confidence that it is reliable. Scientists in LGC??s Food Sciences team carry out a range of analyses to check the authenticity of foods and to make sure that the labelling is correct. Examples include determining the amount and type of meat present, identifying species of fish, checking the authenticity of basmati rice and detecting non-durum wheat in pasta. The scientists can also look for contaminants in foodstuffs and carry out analyses to see whether nutritional labelling is correct.
Consumer safety
Soothers for babies and young children have to pass stringent safety tests before they can be sold. LGC??s Consumer Safety team carries out mechanical and chemical tests on soothers to ensure that they meet these requirements.
National measurement institute
LGC is also the UK??s National Measurement Institute for chemical and biochemical analysis. As part of this role LGC manages the Valid Analytical Measurement (VAM) and Measurements for Biotechnology (MfB) programmes. These programmes help organisations carrying out analysis to deliver consistently reliable results
Submitted by: Vicki Barwick of LGC, 26 January 2007
