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Fapas - Proficiency Testing
Globally recognised provider of proficiency tests, running over 400 tests annually across an extensive range of matrices and analytes
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Great Crested Newts Testing
A single sample taken by an ecologist at any time during the newt breeding season can determine their presence or absence, saving you time and money
See Hide the Stats
100
years of science
600
R&D projects
1,000
active partnerships
100,000
samples per year
What's happening with us right now?
How we can help...
Chemical and crop protection companies
Fera has the scientific and regulatory expertise to provide consultancy services to help you with every step of the regulatory framework process. Our experience derives from working in government, industry, contract research organisations and in regulatory consultancies. We have well-established working relationships with many competent authorities, which means we can support you to achieve product registrations effectively and efficiently.
Chemical Services
Terrestrial Ecotoxicology
Fera offers a wide range of standardised laboratory studies, aged residue tests as well as more complex higher tier studies under extended laboratory, glasshouse, semi-field and field conditions with standard or bespoke designs.
Absorption Mobility
By understanding how chemical products are transformed, distributed and taken up by organisms in the natural environment, we can provide the data required for environmental risk assessments – ensuring you meet all regulatory requirements in the development of safe plant-protection and veterinary products.
Aquatic Ecotoxicology
Work with a partner with more than 20 years of experience in a wide range of study types on water quality and aquatic life. Accessing our new state-of-the-art facilities, purpose-built, high spec aquatic facility.
Post Market Stewardship
Post-market monitoring and environmental stewardship are essential in the lifecycle of any regulated agrochemical product. It’s important that you have strategies in place to monitor the safety of your products over the long term, along with action plans to minimise risks.
See all Chemical services
CHEMICAL REGULATION
Endocrine Disruption
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are compounds which can alter the normal functioning of the endocrine system and cause developmental and reproductive effects in humans and animals. As both the exposed individual and its offspring. can be affected by endocrine disruption there are concerns about the longer-term impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals for populations and ecosystems.
Meet the scientists...
Chris Sinclair
Chris ensures delivery of the regulatory environmental risk assessment processes (quantifying risk for pesticides, veterinary medicines and feed additives) of environmental fate and behaviour of chemicals (e.g. movement of chemicals through soils to surface and ground waters) for our customers. He also leads on the ecotoxicology of chemicals (quantifying the impact chemicals have on terrestrial and aquatic organisms from earthworms and plants to fish and crustaceans).
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Food manufacturers and retailers
With a large range of testing abilities, our multi-disciplinary approach gives an overall view of any food issue you may be facing, providing you with the complete information you need to make the strong decisions needed to address these issues.
Food Services
Order Online with Fera
You can now order your routine Food Tests online, making it simpler for you to work with us and meet your future food testing challenges.
Honey Authenticity
Fera offer extensive authenticity analysis capabilities across a range of samples, such as our extensive Manuka honey testing ability, where we can highlight the presence of Manuka’s active ingredients within one ‘Quad Test’.
Shelf Life Testing
At Fera our experts can develop and carry out a standard microbiological testing method to assess the bacterial content of food and beverage products as well as feed products to determine their use by date as well as associated hygiene or product practices.
Origen
OriGen helps you to quickly trace the cause of contamination and avoid expensive and damaging product recalls. As supply chains expand across the globe and become ever more complex, quality control systems are coming under increasing strain, and the number of product recalls is growing.
See all Food services
TESTING
Contaminant Testing
Our experts focus on the scientific research relating to intentionally added food components and to those arising from chemical changes during food processing, bioactive chemicals and natural toxicants.
If you are unsure what kind of tests you need, we can help you diagnose your sample using our extensive analysis techniques.
Meet the scientists...
Emma Bradley
Emma is an analytical chemist by training and currently leads a team of 120 scientists working on food integrity and safety. She has more than 18 years of experience in the analysis of chemical contaminants in foods and specifically chemical migration from food contact materials and articles.
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Growers, farmers and agronomists
Fera offers a suite of crop health services, resources, testing facilities and expertise to help farmers, growers and the food industry to improve yields, reduce costs and develop sustainable solutions.
Growers, Farmers and Agronomist Services
Order Online with Fera
You can now order your routine Crop Tests online, making it simpler for you to work with us and meet your future crop testing challenges.
Environmental DNA
As a quick and accurate alternative to traditional methods of surveying, during the breeding season we offer environmental DNA (eDNA) testing for the presence of great crested newts in pond water. The eDNA Service is based on the recommended protocol by Natural England, and pond samples can be taken during the newt breeding season from the 15th April until the 30th of June.
Virology Diagnosis
The virology diagnostics team at Fera utilises a range of tests, including ELISA, and molecular methods such as PCR and next generation sequencing, to both detect and identify a range of plant affecting viruses, viroids and phytoplasmas.
Insect monitoring
The Fera insect monitoring service helps growers to target insecticide applications more accurately to reduce costs and waste, optimise resources and improve yields.
See all Growers, farmers and agronomist services
PLANT CLINIC
Vine Spore Monitoring
Vines are vulnerable to infection from fungal plant pathogens such as botrytis and mildew throughout an extensive growing season. If not controlled correctly they can be highly destructive and a persistent problem year upon year. Help protect your vines from these highly destructive pathogens using Fera’s Vine Spore Monitoring Service.
Meet the scientists...
Ian Brittain
Plant Pathologist
Ian is developing a national spore monitoring network for the Crop Health and Protection Centre (CHAP) to support more accurate disease risk forecasting for arable and horticultural cropping systems. Ian has worked on a wide range of projects covering quarantine plant pathogens such as Phytophthora ramorum, ash dieback and many indigenous species such as rusts and mildews.
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Proficiency Testing
Established in 1990, Fapas is a globally recognised provider of proficiency tests, running over 400 tests annually across an extensive range of matrices and analytes for the food and water, environmental chemistry and microbiology sectors.
Proficiency Testing Services
Proficiency tests
Proficiency testing is an essential part of laboratory quality procedure and participation is a mandatory requirement of ISO 17025 accreditation. Fapas proficiency testing provides an independent assessment of your laboratory performance and compares your results to laboratories worldwide.
Quality control materials
Surplus test materials from the batch used for the PT may be available for purchase as quality control (QC) samples. These QC samples may be used for troubleshooting poor performance in the PT, training of new staff, method development or generating QC charts.
Reference materials
Reference Materials (RMs) are also available from Fapas for some analyte/matrix combinations. RMs have a much higher degree of characterisation than PT or QC materials with a defined chain of traceability
See all Proficiency Testing services
BESPOKE PROFICIENCY TESTING
Easy Re-ordering
The next time you log on to your Fapas account, you may notice something different. The site now remembers the items you have previously purchased over the years. Easy Re-order, makes it easy for you to reorder proficiency tests that you have previously purchased from Fapas.
Meet the scientists...
Mark Sykes
Scientific Advisor to Fapas
Mark’s principal role is to provide expert advice on all aspects of Fapas proficiency tests and to investigate difficult datasets and their underlying scientific problems. Mark is also responsible for new product development in proficiency testing and developing bespoke schemes.
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Governments and academia
Translating research into real-world solutions across the agri-food supply chain
Government and Academia Services
Science strategy
We live in a changing world, one that faces global challenges such as climate change, increasing globalisation and population growth. In turn, these all affect our food security. Learn how we are meeting these challenges within our Science Strategy.
Areas of Expertise
As an organisation our focus is translating research into evidence and science-based products and services. As we move forward, we encourage an approach that is more entrepreneurial, internationally-focused and integrated into cross-cutting, interdisciplinary programmes that are underpinned by our strategic partnerships and driven by the needs of our customers.
IAFRI Partnership
The aim of the partnership is to deliver innovation in research across the agri-food supply chain, and provide sustainable solutions to problems facing Fera’s diverse customer base in both the agricultural and food sectors. The Institute for Agri-Food Research and Innovation (IAFRI) is a joint venture between Newcastle University and Fera Science Ltd (Fera).
Careers at Fera
We are no ordinary people. We are original thinkers and problem solvers. Are you part of our solution?
Read about our science
BE AN ORIGINAL THINKER
Upcoming Events
Fera attend, exhibit and host a broad array of international events that explore the full scope of our scientific expertise and allow us to engage with our industry, academic and government stakeholders.
Meet the scientists...
Phil Jennings
Phil Jennings has over 25 years of experience in fungal plant pathology, especially epidemiology, disease control, experimental/field trial designs and investigative research approaches.
Meet the Experts in Plant Metabolism.
Leading translational science and research organisation, Fera Science Ltd, has released a new infographic detailing its plant metabolism study capabilities. The infographic, which provides information on the types of studies and the organisation’s experience in the sector, is available to download from the Fera Science website.
Plant metabolism studies are carried out in order to establish the type of residues and the metabolic pathway of the test substance in plants and animals. Specialising in plant breeders, agrochemical and biopesticide manufacturing industries, Fera Science is able to perform Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) compliant plant metabolism studies from its state-of-the-art facilities in Yorkshire.
Transforming the Yorkshire Bioeconomy
The National Agri-Food Innovation Campus (NAFIC) in York is a major contributor to Yorkshire’s bioeconomy by offering young people the opportunity to obtain qualifications and gain hands-on experience in the real world, whilst getting paid to do their job. Two years ago NAFIC had two apprentices which has now increased to more than 100, with more starting later in the year.
Fera and Convance, both based at NAFIC, have come together in partnership to create a formal training entity: the National Science Training Centre (NSTC) for the next generation of talent.
"Original Thinking...Applied"
Fera Team
Copyright © 2019 Fera Science Limited (“Fera”). All rights reserved.
Registered Office: 30 Berners Street, London, W1T 3LR. Registered in England & Wales, No 9413107. Fera
is a joint venture company of Capita Plc, 30 Berners Street, London, W1T 3LR. Registered in England and
Wales No 02081330. VAT Registration ID: GB 618184140
For further information about how Fera uses any personal data collected from you, please see our Privacy
Notice at www.fera.co.uk/privacy-policy.