LEARNING ABOUT KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE’S LABORATORY

Abstract

Food safety efforts must consist of multidisciplinary activities, and one key activity is laboratory testing. With sample submissions from different stakeholders, the Kansas Department of Agriculture Laboratory is equipped to perform various regulatory testing on the samples, contributing to the food safety surveillance of the food supply. With respect to animal feeds, the levels of mycotoxins present are analyzed to determine whether or not the product is safe for animal consumption. If animals consume unsafe amounts of mycotoxins, both animal and human health can be impacted. If that intoxicated animal was consumed, humans are at risk for indirect exposure. In light of human health, foodborne pathogens are of great concern as well. Testing methods are imperative in order to detect possible contaminants in Kansas’ meat and poultry products. However, all testing and day-to-day practices would be meritless without some form of quality management system. Quality management systems, such as International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission 17025, ensure laboratories are performing competently and uniformly. My main objectives were to obtain a better understanding of how a public health laboratory operates, as well as become more familiar with basic microbiological and chemical techniques related to food safety and quality. In attainment of my objectives, I helped perform sample extractions for mycotoxin testing of animal feeds, assisted with method verification of a microbiological testing platform in their Biosafety Level-2 lab, and learned about and applied their quality management system, International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission 17025:2017.