Chemistry and Biochemistry Department

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry comprises around 50 staff from a wide range of disciplines and with many years of experience. It the largest Department at CCFRA and it works closely with other Departments offering complementary technical services to clients, and many of our projects are multi-disciplinary.

It provides essential components of industry’s needs through a wide range of analytical troubleshooting and problem solving activities. The Department is currently organised into four operational sections. These sections are:

• Chromatography, which includes Gas Chromatography, Liquid Chromatography and Flavour and Taint Groups.
• Biochemistry, which includes a Molecular Biology Group
• Microscopy – studies the influence of microstructure on food quality and behaviour, and offers a routine service for the identification of glass and other foreign bodies reported from food.
• Food Composition – which includes a Metals and Materials Group and a Food Specification and Control Team.

The Department is well equipped with "state of the art" equipment including ICP/MS, LC/MS/MS, Scanning Electron Microscope and a variety of GC/MS and HPLC equipment. The Molecular Biology Group are equipped with "Real Time" PCR equipment and many of the techniques and methods used in the Department are accredited by UKAS.