Michigan State University invests in ingredient safety research center
The facility will be located at MSU and will be modeled after existing centers of expertise at other academic institutions, which focus on allergen and microbiological safety and will act as an independent resource for a broad range of industries like cosmetics.
“Michigan State University has what may be the largest and most diverse cohort of faculty in the nation working directly on consumer product safety issues, and the university has great strength in the discipline of toxicology,” says Fred Poston, dean of MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Advisory board working to achieve
In addition to the support of the endowed chair, MSU is aiming to establish a core of research, educating the next generation of scientists and informing regulators and serving industry.
An advisory board of stakeholders, including academic, industry, non-governmental organizations and regulatory representatives will ensure the center will work to achieve the following goals:
- Expand the opportunity to conduct basic and applied research on the safety and toxicology of ingredients in food, packaging, cosmetics and household care products
- Develop and validate testing methods and strategies for evaluating the safety of ingredients in those industries
- Establish a graduate training program that prepares scientists for a career in assessing the safety and toxicology of ingredients in food, packaging, cosmetics and household care products that includes training in risk assessment and U.S. and international regulatory policies.
- Inform the public, health professionals, regulators and the scientific community on research matters reflecting the state-of-the-science pertaining to the safety and toxicology of ingredients in food, packaging, cosmetics and household care products
