safefood’s Laboratory Staff Training and Mobility Programmes are designed to encourage scientific partnerships and collaborations between food safety laboratories and offer laboratory staff an opportunity to broaden their expertise, while their collaborative nature enhances inter-laboratory communication.
These Programmes facilitates a laboratory staff member to spend a period of time in another laboratory with a specific brief or remit. safefood strongly promotes cross border exchanges and all-island visits. Laboratory personnel may participate in visits or training in the following subject areas related to food safety:
- Accreditation
- Labelling
- Additives
- Laboratory Instrumentation
- Allergens/Intolerances
- LIMS
- Bio-Assays
- Molecular Biology
- Contaminants (incl. process)
- Nutrition
- Food Borne Pathogens
- Residues
- Food Complaints
- Ionising Radiation
- Food Composition
- Test Screening Procedures
- Food Speciation
- Toxicology
- Functional Foods
- Toxins
- Harmonisation of Analytical Protocols/Procedures
- Virology
- Other relevant aspects of food safety.
Eligible laboratories
Participation is open to the staff of the following laboratories:
Health labs:
Public Analyst’s Labs: Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Galway;
Public Health Labs: Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford and Northern Ireland (Belfast City Hospital);
Agriculture labs:
Food Science Division (AFBI); Veterinary Sciences Division (AFBI); Central Meat Control Lab; Cork, Dublin, and Limerick Dairy Science Labs; Regional Veterinary Labs; Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, the Pesticide Control Service and Waterford Food Control Laboratory.
Others: The State Lab; Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland; Marine Institute; Limerick City Council Food Bacteriology/ Veterinary Lab; Dublin City Council Food Lab; Cork City Council Food Hygiene Lab; Cork County Council Veterinary and Food Hygiene Lab and specified Reference Laboratories.
All these laboratories are concerned with surveillance, monitoring and enforcement of controls imposed by statutory authorities in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, or elsewhere within the EU.
How do I apply?
Application forms and guidelines may be downloaded below or obtained from Dr.Linda Gordon at
+353 (0)21 230 4100 or email lablink@safefood.eu
Download Training and Mobility Programme guidelines
Download Training and Mobility Programme application form
Who funds the exchange?
safefood funds a finite limited number of applications each year and selection of successful applicants is on a first come, first served basis. However terms & conditions do apply.
Who has participated in the past?
Laboratory personnel have participated in this programme from a variety of laboratories around the island of Ireland. The programme has been very successful and has provided a forum for exchange of information, ideas and a basis for ongoing collaboration between laboratories.
What past participants thought
Past participants have provided good feedback about how valuable the experience was in terms of the information shared and the relationships developed as a result. Exchanges have been taken between laboratories of different sectors and disciplines:
“My visit was a success, it helped to clarify the procedure for writing up the quality manual for ISO17025 and also the requirements necessary for test procedures in order to achieve INAB accreditation” - Lab Analyst from the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dublin.
“My organisation greatly appreciates the availability of safefood funding to allow a staff member to visit such a centre of excellence” – Food Analyst from the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast.
“A big thanks to safefood for facilitating this programme and allowing us to learn from others” – Senior Medical Scientist, Dublin Public Health Laboratory.
Some participant case studies
Marine life
Training overseas can often give new perspectives to methods in use in food safety laboratories on the island of Ireland according to Dr Philipp Hess of the Marine Institute. Read More
Training in sunny Madrid
Dr Christopher Laffey flew to Spain as part of safefood’s Training and Mobility Programmes. The visit led to significant improvements in gluten testing. Read More
The French connection, part Deux
Lablinks encourages participation in School for Advanced Residue Analysis in Food. Read More