MICROBIOLOGIST, Dr. Santos Camara of the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) conducted a week-long training in food safety laboratory methods for personnel from the Government Analyst Food and Drug Department in the Ministry of Health, as well as laboratory personnel from Dominica and Grenada, from January 9 to 13th. Conducted at the Institute of Applied Science and Technology facility at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus, the training focused on E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp., two pathogens that can cause food-borne illness in consumers. The training encompassed detection methods for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp., and incorporated presentations and hands-on experience in the laboratory for the participants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was pleased to have been able to sponsor the training activity on food safety, a topic of ongoing interest for officials from both the Public Health and Agriculture departments in Guyana.

USFDA’s Dr. Santos commented thus, “The participants were very engaged in the topic itself and the laboratory aspect of the training. Hopefully, the training will yield practical benefits and method implementation as the participants return to their regular duties in their own laboratories.”

There has been active collaboration between the United States and Guyana on food safety training over the past year. In addition to the recent laboratory training, USDA sponsored three scientific exchanges on food safety themes with Guyana in 2011. Participants include Ministry of Health Director of the Food and Drug Department, Marilyn Collins; University of Guyana lecturer Donna Morrison, and Ministry of Health Inspector Marlan Cole, who visited American universities to learn about topics such as risk assessment and management, analytical methodologies for detecting pesticides on fruit and vegetables, and food safety risks for non-traditional agricultural products.