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EU-US-SAFE-FOOD - Developing a Strategic Transatlantic Approach to Food Safety

Objective

This proposal aims to develop a structured transatlantic alliance on food safety, by establishing a joint food-borne zoonoses network, called EU-US-SAFE-FOOD, for research into all aspects of microbiological food safety within the total food chain but particularly in the pre-harvest phase of production.<P>

The generation of such an international network will complement, and significantly add value to, the current skills and expertises of European food safety scientists by ensuring and enhancing a global perspective of food borne disease issues and by providing the opportunities to acquire, contribute to and disseminate the state-of-art knowledge.

More information

Diseases transmitted through foods have become a global problem as food is increasingly imported from many counties with different standards of food production and processing. Such diseases constitute major social and economic burdens on public health and have significant implications for international trade. The industrialised trading regions, like the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (US), have a responsibility for encouraging and enabling improved food safety by contributing state-of-art knowledge and standards. To ensure that such information is harmonised, communication and collaboration between food safety research scientists are essential. In the EU a Network of Excellence, MED-VET-NET, has recently been established to provide a virtual institute for research on zoonoses, including food borne diseases within Europe. A similar structure, FS-CAP, is currently being established for the US by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Both networks have remits to deliver the scientific expertise, knowledge and response capacity to support and advise governmental policy. Such networks can, therefore, provide the infrastructures for transatlantic collaboration. <P>

For more information about this project, please visit the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/research/biosociety/food_quality/projects/062_en.ht…; target="_blank">European Commission Food Quality and Safety in Europe</a> Web site.

Investigators
Newell, Diane
Institution
Veterinary Laboratories Agency, UK
Start date
2005
End date
2008
Funding Source
Project number
007080