Public Analyst Training

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 re…