The BBSRC China Partnering Award scheme has enabled the Institute of Food Research to position itself as a Centre for Excellence in Food Safety Science with China.

Dr Pradeep Malakar and Professor Tim Brocklehurst, Head of International Relations at IFR, recently hosted a visit by a delegation from the Department of Health for Southern China led by Mr Huang Fei, Deputy Director Food Safety Committee Office of Guangdong Province.

Tim Brocklehurst and Huang Fei

The department oversees Food Safety for a population in excess of 100 million citizens and this visit is aimed at exploring IFR’s Quantitative Risk Modelling expertise, led by Dr Gary Barker, for reducing the burden of foodborne illness. IFR scientists are joined by other UK experts from the University of East Anglia, Unilever Research UK and Food Forensics, a start-up company based on the Norwich Research Park, will be discussing opportunities to expand the benefits of quantitative Food Safety Science to a wider audience during this visit.

Dr Pradeep Malakar, a BBSRC-CPA grant holder from 2008 -2012, visited the Centre For Disease Control in Guangdong Province on September 24^th and met Mr Huang for a discussion on collaborations between IFR and DoH Guangdong Province.

The visit to IFR was sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British Consulate for Guangdong Province and builds on the efforts of BBSRC in laying the foundations for lasting scientific links with China. The Institute of Food Research, which is strategically supported by BBSRC, submitted an application to the China-UK Cooperation Programme in Global Priorities, supported jointly by BBSRC and the Ministry of Science and Technology, China in April this year. IFR aims to be the lead UK partner for scientists in China intending to pursue research in Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment.