Public Analyst Training

Overview

The Food Safety Act 1990 requires LAs to appoint PAs for chemical and compositional food sampling in a legal context and provide a CoA which is admissible as evidence in criminal proceedings. The MChemA qualification needed to become a PA is rightly challenging to achieve as it ensures extensive knowledge in chemical analysis and competence in providing an expert legal opinion on the quality, safety and probity of food. As some analyses require being tested under the direction of a PA or require the PA to undertake the test themselves due to the need for specialised training, a reduction in the number of PAs hugely reduces the capacity of PA OLs. Moreover, PA OLs who lose their PA due to retirement, or fail to appoint one, will lose their ability to test samples under the Food Safety Act 1990 leading to an inability for LAs to take enforcement action. Funding the training and continued professional development (CPD) of PAs and providing funding to backfill desk analyst roles in the laboratory could improve capacity and capability in PA OLs as outlined in the FSA Board Paper 2022. Providing such a succession plan will guarantee the future of the PA profession and the PA OL system. The project must demonstrate the design and delivery of a training programme which supports the development of PA trainees’ skills, knowledge, and experience in a PA OL throughout their MChemA. This should enable trainees to be better equipped to become practising PAs and therefore support the succession planning of PAs in PA OLs, to ensure that they can continue to act as PA OLs in the future.