New Food and Water Laboratory Network to Deal With 21st Century Challenges

The Health Protection Agency is planning to revamp the Food, Dairy, Water and Environmental (FDWE) laboratory service network from this November to deal with new outbreaks and emergencies, the Agency's Board heard today.

The proposals, for a network of regionally based FDWE laboratories working within a new national framework, are being sent to Local Authority Chief Executives and other key stakeholders later this month for their input on how best to implement the new service in their local areas.

Each regional network would have a designated lead FDWE laboratory which would act as the focus of outbreak and incident response and new technology in that region. The national framework would ensure high microbiology standards as well as the laboratories contributing to surveillance, data flows and national projects and outbreak investigation.

The key aim of the HPA's proposed new network is to develop an integrated, effective and reliable FDWE microbiology service, as well as a formal system which reflects the changing service needs of customers in the NHS, Local Authorities and other agencies.

The FDWE laboratories will provide essential data for the science base for food policy and identifying public health interventions including a collaborative public health investigation of raw shell eggs in the Agency's London Region which highlighted hospitals using eggs contaminated with Salmonella. These eggs were withdrawn from use and the hospitals reminded of the proper use of raw shell eggs by the Food Standards Agency. This advice was reinforced by directly contacting Medical Directors of NHS Trusts in England.