Letters: December 2025

A farewell to the Association of Public Analysts

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s accommodation at Burlington House in London, UK, offers iconic spaces, but in common with public analysts of my generation and younger it is a special place for a very specific reason. Most of us sat the written parts of our Mastership in Chemical Analysis (MChemA) exams there, usually tucked away in the Hinshelwood Room. The MChemA is the statutory qualification for those who want to practice as a public analyst in the UK. Although not required for the appointment, all the country’s agricultural analysts are also MChemA holders. Those applying for the qualification must be RSC members (AMRSC, MRSC or FRSC) and obtain MRSC or FRSC by the time of applying for Part C (the final stage) of the exam process. Public analysts are appointed by local authorities and play a key role in the enforcement of regulations made under the Food Safety Act 1990.

It was appropriate then for Burlington House to be the venue for a bittersweet occasion at the end of October, when current and former public analysts and their partners enjoyed a convivial valedictory lunch to mark the winding up of The Association of Public Analysts (APA), which was formally dissolved as a membership organisation in 2024. As well as a chance for people to chat with former colleagues, presentations were made with two retired training officers being given medals as a token of appreciation for their work. The last APA president also received a medal and passed the president’s medal to the Royal Society of Chemistry for safe keeping.

Although not as grand (or valuable) as the RSC president’s medal, the APA’s was carefully composed to indicate or allude to some of the public analyst’s duties. The design is partly descriptive and partly symbolic, two prominent features being the ears of corn on the right and the poppy head on the left, representing respectively a typical food and a valuable drug. Although mentioned in the Medicines Act 1968, public analysts are no longer involved in the analysis of drugs and pharmaceuticals. In the centre of the design are a mortar and pestle as a reminder of the importance of sample preparation and a sword of justice alluding to the protection that the analyst’s labours afford to the all-trusting consumer and the honest vendor. A pendant to the medal takes the form of a balance weight in reference to the quantitative aspect of analytical work.

On a more upbeat note, this year’s successful MChemA candidate was presented with her certificate and is now an appointed public analyst.

Duncan Campbell FRSC
Huddersfield, UK

Civet cruelty

Thanks for the very informative news article on civet coffee. Please next time do include the animal cruelty issues surrounding this trade. We cannot practice science in a vacuum, ignoring the societal, environmental and ethical implications of our work and journalism. As an aside, I did note that the original article you were reporting on did at least make mention of the animal cruelty issues surrounding this industry. I think you may have had a duty to report this too as your article will certainly have the effect of boosting sales in this industry without any given context regarding the welfare of the civets forced to eat the coffee beans.

As a science educator I am increasingly seeing how important it is to communicate to my students the moral dimensions of our work beyond mere intellectual novelty. I’m sure you have a similar view, given your enthusiasm for holding power to account.

Robin Carter
Jakarta, Indonesia

An alchemist’s Christmas gift

Philip Ball’s article referencing the alchemists’ attempts to transform base metals into gold conjured up some memories of my student days:

Making ‘gold’ coins for Christmas stocking fillers:

1. Dissolve zinc in hot sodium hydroxide solution,
2. Add some clean ‘copper’ coins to the solution (use non-British coins; otherwise it’s apparently an act of treason!)
3. Continue boiling until the coins develop a grey colour (precipitated zinc).
4. Remove and wash the coins with water.
5. Heat the coins in a gas flame until the zinc coating alloys with the surface of the coins… abracadabra! ‘Gold’ coins!
6. Paint the coins with a water-based varnish/lacquer to hinder tarnishing.

Paul Boothby MRSC
Somerset, UK 

Raychelle in wonderland

I was interested, and not a little amused, by Raychelle Burks’s article on bat predation.

Inevitably, Alice in Wonderland came to mind: ‘Do cats eat bats? Do bats eat cats?’ Alice couldn’t answer either question. Burks could have enlightened her.

Andrew Stachulski FRSC
University of Liverpool, UK 

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