New Zealand Institute for Environmental Science and Research (ESR)
The work of ESR underpins the Health and Justice systems in NZ. It provides a range of scientific services to government organisations and commercial companies in NZ and the Asia-Pacific region. ESR has almost 400 staff and an annual turnover of $40 million. It is principally funded by the Ministry of Health, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and the Police. It also receives substantive research funding from the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology, the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, Meat and Wool New Zealand, Health Research Council, the Lottery Fund and the EU. ESR lives by its motto: to protect people and the environment.
The ESR Food Safety Programme has a strong public health focus and specialises in the chemistry and microbiology of foods, enabling clients to assess and control hazards arising in the food supply. Risk analysis underpins and directs its work to best effect. ESR uses this broad mix of skills to investigate food in a holistic manner, assessing both the good and bad aspects and addressing the balance in a food safety context. These skills are brought together as appropriate to address client (especially Government) needs and include addressing prevailing acute or emerging public health issues in a very short time frame. The group has extensive IANZ-accredited analytical capability in microbiology, molecular biology and chemistry that is underpinned by research and development in emerging areas. Major areas of research include risk modelling of sources of human campylobacteriosis, rapid diagnostic methods for chemical and microbial foodborne hazards, influence of total diet components on health, genetic and physiological characteristics of foodborne pathogens, molecular epidemiology and biocontrol strategies.
ESR also acts as the NZ Technical Co-ordinator.
