The Liège lab is one of five labs of the Food Agency. It is the most recent lab. Each year, the 26 employees conduct more than 10,000 inspections, mostly on behalf of the agency, sometimes on behalf of a company or farmer. And they do so with passion and conviction. Similarly, we are welcomed by the reception staff surrounded by the new samples that have just arrived at the lab.
Every day, they receive dozens of samples. They scan them in, prepare them for the staff in the laboratories, and some samples are processed by them first before being forwarded upstairs, where the labs are located. Animal feed and other dry substances are ground into a fine powder; animal products such as meat, fat and eggs are mixed and then carefully weighed to make them test-ready.
"It's a job with a lot of variety," the employees assure us, as they nimbly attach labels to the samples. An additional sample for most of the samples is kept, so that new tests can be done if a counter-analysis is requested. In the office is a large freezer for products that are best kept refrigerated; the other double samples are taken to a large basement downstairs. "We keep our samples and control samples for as long as is necessary in accordance with the legislation."
Once the samples have passed through the skilled hands of the reception staff, they are taken to the labs. The Liège lab is divided into several departments, each with its own specialism. They examine samples for traces of pesticides, medicines, additives, contaminants, ionising treatment and microplastics that transfer from packaging to food and much more. All this is to keep a close eye on the safety of our food chain.
They use the most advanced techniques for this purpose. The rooms are abuzz with high-tech machines running there. Some cost as much as more than 400,000 euros each. "Good insurance is not a luxury here." There are also some strange red structures next to the doors. What do they turn out to be? These are showers in case something does go wrong while performing the tests. "No worries," director Patrick Genot assures us, "since we have been working here, which is more than 10 years, we have only turned on the showers to test them." Safety is obviously very important.
Some tests are still done in a traditional way such as, for example, a test to find out the amount of nitrogen in a manure sample. Many tests are done using large, high-tech devices controlled by computers. Before such a sample is ready to be put into a machine, an entire preparation process comes before that.
Every effort is made to avoid contaminating a sample or test. Measuring the right amounts, transferring reagents into test tubes, heating up substances, letting them rest, filtering, etc. It is all done according to well-defined rules and official procedures established in advance. This is to be 100% sure that the results are reliable and correct. Our labs are accredited (ISO 17025).
Other unusual tests are those in which plastic objects are subjected to conditions that simulate the worst possible real-world applications. This way, we can verify that no harmful substances are then released such as melamine, bisphenol A or S, formaldehyde or aromatic amines. These substances can be harmful to our health. To verify this, the products are soaked in a liquid and placed in an oven for a certain amount of time. Some items remain in the oven for up to thirty days. After this long process, our scientists can verify that the materials you use while cooking or eating a meal are completely safe.
The Liège lab works closely with the four other FASFC labs, in Gentbrugge, Gembloux, Melle and Tervuren. Together, our staff analyse more than 300 samples per day. 97.5% show favourable results. If not, our inspection people shoot into action immediately and the products are recalled or destroyed. This does not eliminate all risks of food contamination, but what is certain is that if necessary, our people will work seven days a week to identify a contamination as quickly as possible, so that it can be contained and controlled.