Tuesday 28 November 2007

SSQC LTD SECURES E COLI CONTRACT

SSQC Ltd, the quality standards monitoring arm of the NAFC Marine Centre, has announced that is has secured the E coli contract for monitoring Escherichia coli in shellfish for harvesting area classification in Shetland and Orkney.

 

This is a national programme operated by the Food Standards Agency to classify shellfish harvesting areas based on the degree of contamination by the faecal indicator bacterium in shellfish flesh.  E coli is found in the gut of both humans and warm-blooded animals, which means it is a reliable indicator of faecal pollution.

 

Niall O’Rourke, section leader of Analytical Services at SSQC Ltd will be responsible for the day to day management of the programme.  He said: “This programme is vital for the local shellfish industry as the results will inform the classification of shellfish harvesting areas – with Category A being the highest and symbolising the purest waters.

 

“Since 2005, we have carried out this work under a subcontract arrangement with Fisheries Research Services in Aberdeen but we will now be contracting directly with the Food Standards Agency Scotland (FSAS).  Instead of going through a third party, we will be able to deal direct with FSAS, which will improve communications and streamline the whole process.

 

“We will now also be processing samples from Orkney as well as Shetland, which broadens our remit and widens our customer base.  Samples are collected from sites around Shetland and Orkney by official control sampling officers and brought to SSQC Ltd for analysis.  We already process over 650 samples annually for E coli.

 

“The contract is also extremely good news for the microbiology team here at SSQC Ltd – helping stabilise  income for the next three years at least.  It helps to cement our position and guarantees a substantial amount of work for us for the future.”

 

“Carol Phillips, SSQC Ltd’s development manager, said: “This is a very important part of the services we offer for the shellfish industry.  The new contract enables us to deliver what we set out to do in our business plan – to build on the services we provide for the local food and drink industries in general and the seafood sector in particular.

 

Further information from:
Niall O’Rourke, SSQC Ltd, tel 01595 772407, email or visit www.ssqc.co.uk Or, Isabel Johnson, Shaw Marketing and Design Ltd, tel 01595 692465 or email