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Training Guides and Courses

The APA Educational Trust and the APA Training Committee organise training courses and seminars and publish guides for those studying for the M.Chem.A. These courses and guides are primarily intended to assist M.Chem.A. students and to provide Continuing Professional Development opportunities for Public Analysts and staff within their laboratories. However, most courses are open to all, whether or not employed in the Public Analyst Service, and the intention is to make all the guides freely available (in pdf format) through this Website.

The M.Chem.A. is the qualification prescribed by the Food Safety (Sampling and Qualifications) Regulations 1990 for a person to be appointed as a Public Analyst in the United Kingdom. These regulations also provide that the MChemA is an authorised qualification for a person to practice as a Food Examiner. Responsibility for the examination and the award of a Mastership remain with the Royal Society of Chemistry, from which copies of current regulations and syllabus for the examination may be obtained.

The studies necessary to prepare for the M.Chem.A. examination will prove valuable to many working in the food industry, or otherwise concerned with food standards and legislation, whether or not they intend to take the examination. The APA Training Courses will also be useful to food professionals.

• Training Guide, Legislation (2007 edition) (14 pages, 100 KB in pdf format.
• Training Guide, Legislation (2006 edition) (14 pages, 70 KB in pdf format. This guide has now been superceded by the 2007 edition but has been retained for reference purposes.)
• Training Guide, Legislation (2005 edition) (13 pages, 818 KB in pdf format), this guide has now been superceded by the 2006 edition but has been retained for reference purposes.)
• Training Guide, Candidate's Record of Study and Progress (8 pages, 230 KB)
  Note that this document is in MicroSoft Word (doc) format.
• Training Guide, Certificate and Report Writing, 2005 (66 pages, 1.6 MB in pdf format)
• Training Guide, Microbiology (57 pages, 871 KB in pdf format)
• Training Guide, Legislation (2004 edition) (19 pages, 191 KB in pdf format. This guide has now been superceded by the 2005 edition but has been retained for reference purposes.)
• Study Guide for the Mastership in Chemical Analysis (2nd Edition) (50 pages, 383 KB in pdf format)
• Training Guide, Labelling of Food, Bottled Water and Agricultural Materials (41 pages, 608 KB in pdf format)
• Candidate's Record of Professional Training and Experience
• Training Guide, Microscopy (1998 edition) (24 pages, 154 KB in pdf format), this guide is currently under review.
• Training Guide, Food Complaints (34 pages, 241 KB in pdf format)
• Training Guide, Legislation (2003 edition) (30 pages, 244 KB in pdf format. This guide has now been superceded by the 2004 edition but has been retained for reference purposes.)

It is the intention that all APA guides will be provided free of charge in electronic form on this Website. Those indicated as links above are now available in Adobe^® Acrobat^® (pdf) format for printing locally. The others are available in hard copy from the Association. Electronic versions will be provided when available and hard copy versions will be withdrawn.

To access the text you will need Adobe^® Acrobat^® Reader installed on your computer. This can be downloaded from the Adobe^® website at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html. In the UK the latest version of the programme is available on many computer magazine free CDs each month.

The Training Committee would welcome any necessary corrections to the text and constructive comment on ways of improving future editions of any publication. Correspondence should be sent to the Secretary at the address given at the foot of the acknowledgments page of the appropriate publication.

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• Reading MChemA Training Course 2008
  Final information including a timetable and registration form is now available for the 2008 Reading course.
• MChemA Candidates and Counsellors Seminar
  A seminar for MChem A candidates and Counsellors was held at county hall in Durham on 3rd April. The event was organised by Alan Richards at the Durham laboratory with the Royal Society of Chemistry.

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