Fera Science, formerly the Food and Environment Research Agency, is a UK research organisation. It is a joint private/public sector venture between Capita plc and the UK Government (Defra).

History

The Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) was formed in 2009 by merging the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) at Sand Hutton, the Plant Health Division (PHD) / Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI) in York, the

Plant Variety Rights Office and Seeds Division Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

(PVS) in Cambridge and the UK Government Decontamination Service at

MoD Stafford Ministry of Defence Stafford otherwise known as MOD Stafford or Beacon Barracks is a Ministry of Defence site in Stafford, in England. History Beacon Barracks was renamed from RAF Stafford in 2006, after the Royal Air Force moved out. In 2013, ...

. In 2015, Fera Science was created as an independent entity from the UK government as a joint venture between DEFRA and

Capita Capita plc, commonly known as Capita, is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London. It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United K ...

. The Plant Health Inspectorate, Plant Varieties and Seeds, the National Bee Unit and the GM Inspectorate were split off from Fera and became part of the

Animal and Plant Health Agency The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), formerly known as the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of the United Kingdom. It was fo ...

. The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) was established to support and develop a sustainable food chain, a healthy natural environment, and to protect the global community from biological and chemical risks.

Function

Fera specialises in the sciences underpinning

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

for sustainable

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropon ...

production,

environmental management Environmental resource management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environmental resources management aims ...

and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

and in

food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from ...

and quality. Fera has statutory responsibilities for delivering policy and inspectorate functions in relation to Plant Health, Bee Health and Plant Varieties and Seeds. Fera is part of the UK capability to respond to, and recover from, emergency situations, including accidental or deliberate release of hazardous materials.

Structure

It also houses FAPAS (international food analysis proficiency testing services) and the .National Collection of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria
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References

External links

The Food and Environment Research Agency
official site
National Collection of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria
official site
FAPAS
official site {{Defra (United Kingdom) Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Science and technology in the United Kingdom Agriculture in England Organisations based in North Yorkshire Government agencies established in 2009 Research institutes in North Yorkshire Agricultural research institutes 2009 establishments in the United Kingdom Scientific organizations established in 2009

History

Function

Structure

See also

References

External links