Few people in Bury realise that the new building next to Bury’s new police station houses part of a Company – LGC – who are one of the World leaders in ensuring our food is safe to eat. Although I was not able to attend the official opening of their new premises held at the end of March as Parliament was sitting I have taken the opportunity of the Easter recess to visit the Company and view at first hand their work.

I must thank Phil Smith, Head of Sales and Marketing at LGC Standards Proficiency Testing who gave me a guided tour.

LGC Standards provides products and services to improve measurement and quality control within the laboratory, and is part of LGC, whose LGC Science & Technology Division acts as the UK National Measurement Institute for chemical and bioanalytical measurements. LGC Standards supplies over 100,000 products, including reference materials, pharmaceutical impurity reference standards (produced under ISO Guide 34 accreditation), biological standards and reagents, and proficiency testing. Although the headquarters for LGC Standards is in Teddington, Middlesex, its global centre for excellence in proficiency testing is right here at Chamberhall. LGC Standards has offices in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, China, Russia, United Arab Emirates and the UK, a joint venture presence in India, and representatives in Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, Turkey and the US.