APA News
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India Delegation visits PASS – Norwich
The delegation included the Chairman and vice Chair of the Council together with exporters and leaders from a range of laboratories across India. Alan Richards, Head of Scientific Services met the delegates who were looking at methods of preparing bulk samples of nuts and aflatoxin analysis. Alan said “The Oilseeds Council have had problems with consignments of nuts being rejected at Felixstowe Port following several reports of very high levels of aflatoxins in the last year. The members of the delegation want to try and harmonise sampling and testing procedures in Europe with those in use in India.”
Prior to arriving in Norwich the delegation visited the port at Felixstowe to examine facilities and see methods for sampling from bulk containers. From Norwich they were travelling to Rotterdam to examine nut handling there and completing their trip with a visit to Brussels to meet officials at DG Sanco and the FVO.
Mr. Rajesh Bheda, Chairman of IOPEPC said he was hoping to organise a workshop in India with support from European stakeholders to agree standard procedures for sampling and analysis of nuts. It was also agreed that a project should be set up to assess whether significant levels of aflatoxins could be produced in the 25-30 day transit of the nuts from India to the UK. He hoped that this would solve some of the problems of different results obtained in the different countries and hoped that the FVO would support these initiatives.
