Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced that it has purchased access to the FC24 Food Commodities and Contaminants Database compiled by Europe’s Food and Environmental Research Agency (fera), and is allowing customers worldwide to use it free of charge at www.agilent.com/chem/foods.

“Food testing is all about being able to quickly and efficiently identify problems before they can affect public health,” said Paul Zavitsanos, Agilent worldwide food program manager. “The FC24 database is an example of our mission to put better tools and methods into the hands of scientists performing this crucial work.”

Typically, users are charged a fee to access the database, which contains information about food contaminants and residues from across the European Union (EU). The database also provides commodity and contaminant-specific information on maximum residue levels published by the EU-wide rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF).

Fera is the National Reference Laboratory in the U.K. for chemicals in food, pesticides, veterinary drugs, dioxins and PCBs in feed. It analyzes more than 50,000 plant and food samples each year.