Food, Water and Environmental Testing

The department provides a range of core tests for the detection and enumeration of organisms in in water, raw food products and food processing environments, for the purpose of informing the test requestor of bacterial content of samples.  All investigations are chargeable, and further details of the core test repertoire and associated charges can be found in the downloadable test information leaflet below.

 

Sampling

The laboratory takes no responsibility for collecting samples, but does provide suitable sterile sample collection devices as part of the service.  Customers should liaise with the laboraotry team to arrange collection of sample containers.  Each sample must be accompanied by suitable request form.

                                                                               

Competent Authority

The Food Water and Environmental (FWE) laboratory was set up to undertake microbiological evaluations of water and food samples and is seeking accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 standard to comply with international general requirements for the competence of testing laboratories; this will ensure testing conforms with European Union (EU) legislation.
The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) has designated the Veterinary service at theDepartment of Agriculture (DOA) as the “Competent Authority (CA)” for the purposes of inspecting and certifying meat and fish product, destined for export, as being fit for human consumption.  The CA makes use of the FWE laboratory services to:
a) Determine that meat and fish product has been processed in a hygienic manner as required by the European Union specifically Regulations 178/2002, 852/2004, 853/2004 and2017/625.
b) Determine if potable water samples collected during inspections are fit for consumption.

Interpretation

The laboratory department does not provide any opinion or reference ranges for the interpretation of results obtained through the investigations performed.  It is the duty of the requestor to interpret results, and source their own indicators for interpretation of the quality of the test sample.

Accessing the service

All customers of the Food, Water and Environmental service are required to hold a current Service Level Agreement with the department before testing will be undertaken.  To engage the laboratory services for the first time please complete the form below and submit to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.