The role of metrology in chemistry in the upholding of public health and food safety in Hong Kong

The Government Laboratory has been involved in the provision of analytical and advisory services since its formal establishment in 1913 in support of the needs of the community and the commitments of the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. One of the earliest areas of work involves the testing of food samples for maintenance of public health and food safety. Remarkable advances in technology in recent years coupled with the introduction of new policies and regulations, the launching of new international standards and requirements have all contributed to significant and ever-rising demand of accurate, specific, comparable and traceable measurements using the latest technologies for a wide variety of additives, contaminants, residues and genetically modified ingredients in food.Metrology, the science of measurement, has always played a key role in the development and validation of analytical methodologies in the Government Laboratory for the realization of its measurements to the highest level of accuracies and traceability to internationally recognized standards. Besides the application of the latest analytical technologies such as isotope dilution mass spectrometry, tandem mass spectrometry, real-time polymerase chain reactions, etc., the Analytical and Advisory Services Division of the Laboratory develops a quality assurance system in full compliance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 and endeavours to ensure that every analytical methods are validated with the best applicable means and are fit for the intended purposes. In this presentation, the role and application of metrology in chemistry in the measurements pertaining to public health and food safety work undertaken by the Government Laboratory are discussed.Presented at International Symposium on Metrology in Chemistry, 2004 Beijing, China.