On October 15, Dr. Christina Vlachou, the head of the Joint FAO/IAEA Food Safety and Control Laboratory, visited the Institute of Quality Standards and Testing Technology for Agro-Products, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IQSTAP-CAAS). Mr. FeijieWang, Party Committee Secretary of the institute attended the event and delivered a welcome speech.

During the visit, Dr. Vlachou gave an academic report on innovative nuclear techniques for enhanced protection and trust in food supply chains. She shared the latest R&D advancements in her laboratory, as well as the international promotion and application of technologies such as contaminant detection and authenticity identification. Experts from the IQSTAP-CAAS also introduced their research themes and progress respectively. The two sides held an in-depth discussion on how to advance future collaborations on the detection of pesticides, veterinary drugsand heavy metals, research and application of reference materials, traceability and identification technologies for agricultural products, as well as graduate student education in the framework of the IAEA Collaborating Centre for Nuclear Techniques on Food Safety and Quality.

After the exchange and discussion, Dr. Vlachou also toured the Monitoring and Assessment Laboratory, Dioxin Detection Laboratory, and the Livestock Product Quality and Safety Laboratory. The visit enhanced mutual understanding and laid a solid foundation for strengthening and expanding international cooperation on food safety in the future.

By Yamei Qi (qiyamei@caas.cn)