The Health and Food Sciences Precinct is located 20 minutes from Brisbane and hosts scientists from various government and university organizations conducting research on food, agriculture, and biosecurity. The precinct contains a food pilot plant, laboratories, and facilities for testing and developing food products, monitoring chemical residues in food, and conducting veterinary diagnostic testing. It aims to support Queensland businesses and industries through services like product development, reformulation testing, and market analysis.

1. The Healthand FoodSciencesPrecinct(HFSP) islocatedatCoopersPlains,approximately20minutes
fromBrisbane’scentral businessdistrictatthe QueenslandHealthForensicandScientificServices
campus.
The precincthosts170 scientistsfromthe Departmentof Agriculture,FisheriesandForestry,
CommonwealthScientificandIndustrial ResearchOrganisation(CSIRO) andThe Universityof
Queenslandthroughthe QueenslandAlliance forAgriculture andFoodInnovation(QAAFI).Another
550 are co-locatedonthe QueenslandHealthForensicandScientificServicescampus.

2. Facilities
The keyfacilitiesof the precinctare:
 A foodpilotplantfacilitywithanextensive range of food-gradeprocessingequipmentfor
handlingseafood,meat,dairyandhorticulture products(available tootherpublicand
private researchorganisationsthroughcollaborative researchprojects)thatisSafefood
Queenslandaccredited
 Workspacesandlaboratoriesforfoodscience,animal nutrition,biochemical analysisand
consumerandsensoryresearch
 Animal biosecurityresearchanddiagnostictestingfacilities
Services& Capabilities
Testing& Developing Food&Beverage Products
Queenslandbusinessesthatdesignandmanufacture foodandbeveragescanuse the ‘foodzone’to
developandtestnewproducts. The foodzone isa single locationforsmall-scale production,initial
development,reformulationandconsumertestingof foodandbeverage products.
Facilitiesinclude:
 1400 m2
of SafefoodQueenslandandDepartmentof Agriculture,FisheriesandForestry
accreditedfoodresearchandprocessingplant
 foodpilotplantwiththe capabilitytoproduce trial productunderindustrial conditionsupto
1000 litre batches
 foodtechnologylaboratory
 sensoryandconsumertestingfacility
Foodzone scientistsandstaff regularlyworkwithsmall andmedium-sizedmanufacturing
businesses,industryassociationsandotherresearchorganisationsto:
 developproductprototypes
 reformulate products
 understandandtestthe marketfor foodand beverage products
 optimise processingprotocols,includingpost-harvesthandling,storage conditions,
packagingand productionof value-addedproducts
BiosecurityMonitoringof Chemical ResiduesinFood
The Natural ToxinsLaboratoryactivitiesprotectthe domesticconsumermarketandexportmarket
access of QueenslandPrimaryProducersbymonitoringthe chemical residuesinfood.
The laboratory’sprimaryactivitiesinclude:
 investigatinganddevelopinganalyticmethodstodetectplanttoxins
 identifyingand characterisingnew natural toxins
 investigatingandanalysingmycotoxins
 assessingrisksrelatingtonatural toxins

3. The Chemical Residue Laboratoryworkscloselywiththe Natural ToxinsLaboratoryandisNATA
Accredited(ISO17025) forantibioticandpesticide residuesinfood.
The laboratory’sprimaryactivitiesinclude:
 detectingantibioticresiduesinmeat,offal,urine andfeed
 detectingpesticide residuesinfruitandvegetables,animal tissuesandmeatfat
 providingcattle-diptestingservicesforamitraz,cypermethrin/chlorfenvinphosand
deltamethrin/ethiondips
 conductingdiagnosticinvestigationsof pesticidesinwildlife mortalities
The laboratoryaccepts sampleswhen:
 no reasonable private laboratoryisable todothe testingOR
 there isa publicbenefitinvolved
Feesare determinedbythe nature of the workrequiredandpricesare providedbasedonspecific
requests.The abilitytodofee-for-service testingwill be dependentuponthe laboratory’scapacity.
VeterinaryDiagnosticTesting
The BiosecuritySciencesLaboratoryconductsveterinary(landandaquatic) diagnostictestingandis
NATA Accredited(ISO17025) and VeterinaryTestingAccredited(13389).
The laboratory’sprimaryareasof workare:
 Queensland-widerole inthe identificationandinvestigationof new andemergingdiseases
 Surveillance anddiagnosisof diseasesinthe livestockindustriesof Queensland
 National laboratoryscreeningforMad Cow Disease (Bovinespongiformencephalopathy
(BSE))
 Active surveillanceprogramsforarboviruses(insect-transmittedviruses) of cattle,sheepand
horses,suchas Bluetongue virusandBovine ephemeral fever(three daysickness)
 Disease of aquaticanimalsfarmedinthe tropicsandsubtropicssuchas barramundi,finfish,
prawns,oysters,crabs,scallopsandseacucumber
 Veterinarypathologistswithaspecial interestinplantstoxictoanimalsincludinganatural
toxicantsdatabase
 Testingof cattle tick(Rhipicephalus(Boophilus)microplus) forresistance toacaricides
(chemicals) usedforitscontrol
 Testingforpathogensof the apiaryindustry,includingsurveillance todetectpossible
incursionsof exoticmites,especially Varroa species
 Participationinprojectsof importance tolivestockindustriessuchasBovine Johne’s Disease
and reproductive lossincattle
 Researchprojectstodevelopnew moleculardiagnosticmethodsforarange of uses,
especiallyrelatingtoexoticdisease preparedness
 Moleculargeneticsresearchanddiagnostictestingtomanagementanderadication of
invasive pestsandanimals

4. Contacts
FoodPilotPlant
Paul Burt 3276 6003 0423 827 261 paul.burt@daff.qld.gov.au
Chemical ResidueLaboratory
StephenWere 3276 6100 stephen.were@daff.qld.gov.au
BiosecuritySciencesLaboratory
Submissionenquiries 3276 6062 bslclo@daff.qld.gov.au
HealthFoodScience Precinct
Tricia Skele 3276 6085 patricia.skele@daff.qld.gov.au
Address
Physical
39 KesselsRd,CoopersPlains
Mail
DAFF,PO Box 156, ArcherfieldBC4108