News
Queen’s University Belfast officially launched the Institute for Global Food Security. The Institute will improve global food security through the establishment of an international ‘food-fortress’ in Belfast.
Keynote speakers included, Mr Phil Clarke (CEO, Tesco plc), Dr Mike Harrington, (Vice President of European and Asia Pacific Operations for the Waters Corporation) plus senior executives from the food industry.
Further information is available through the press release issued by the University, there is also a special QTV report on the opening.
The Biotoxins in food safefood networks held a one day conference on the 29th November 2012 themed around ‘Mycotoxins and plant toxins: Emerging threats and their impact on feed and food safety’ at the Hilton Hotel, Belfast.
World renowned international experts informed delegates of the advances in analytical and screening techniques for mycotoxin and plant toxin detection.
Programme details, including speakers and topics are available through safefood.
Enquiries on any aspect are welcomed by the Biotoxin Network Facilitator, Prof Chris Elliott, chris.elliott@qub.ac.uk
The Biotoxins in food safefood networks will hold a one day conference on the 29th November 2012 themed around ‘Mycotoxins and plant toxins: Emerging threats and their impact on feed and food safety’ at the Hilton Hotel, Belfast.
Click here to download the flyer
November 2012 – Find out about the cutting edge food safety research conducted at the Institute here.
ASSET 2014
ASSET 2014 - 2nd Food Integrity and Traceability Conference (Queen's University Belfast, 8 - 10 April 2014.) For details visit ASSET 2014 Food Integrity Conference.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor James McElnay, Danny Kennedy MLA Minister for Employment and Learning, and QSAFFE co-ordinator Professor Chris Elliott.
ASSET 2011
- Reviewing recent progress in delivering safe and authentic food to the consumer
- Identifying the greatest current and emerging threats to the integrity of the agri-food supply
- Delivering new analytical means of verifying the integrity of the agri-food supply chain
The conference was opened by Danny Kennedy MLA, Minister for Employment and Learning. Focusing on the key themes, internationally acknowledged experts informed over 200 delegates of key developments in the efforts to provide the world with a safe, sustainable supply of food.
Representatives of science, regulatory bodies and industry from across the world attended the conference. A second conference will be hosted by the University during 2014. Details will be announced.
ASSET PhD student, Abigail Goodman, who works on Sub-strand 3 of the Project, has been awarded a Young Investigator's Award to participate in the BASIN 2011 conference on the Roles of Stable Isotopes in Water Cycle Research from an abstract submitted in late February entitled ‘Temporal and spatial distribution of δ 18Oand δ2H in precipitation across the island of Ireland: Preliminary observations’. The award was based on scientific merit and financial need and Abigail was awarded $500 towards travel expenses, conference fees and accommodation.
Management of the safefood Networks for Biotoxins and Chemical Residues was started by a dedicated team from the Institute of Agri Food and Land-Use from the Russell Group member, Queens University Belfast, in 2010. The diverse current and emerging problems associated with production, processing and supply of safe food requires experts from all sectors to engage in multi-disciplinary and cross-jurisdictional relationships. The mission of these networks is to bring together representatives of industry, regulatory bodies and researchers; as a means to encourage collaboration, cooperation, dissemination of information and to evaluate current and future needs across a range of subjects involved in the production of food from farm to fork on the Island of Ireland. A website devoted to each network, annual symposiums, technical workshops, outreach programmes and e-newsletters act as a platform for these networks. Registration can be completed at http://safefood.ning.com
Simpson Gibson MLA, Professor Chris Elliott, Ms Josephine Morton, Jim Shannon MP.
Northern Ireland's meat industry must cut costs and boost exports in order to survive in an increasingly competitive international market, according to a new study.
Conducted by the French consultancy Gira and commissioned by Invest NI and the Livestock and Meat Commission, the study highlighted growth opportunities in global markets over the next ten years...to read more click here.
Sustainability has become a mainstream concern for UK consumers but does not necessarily translate into altered shopping behaviours, according to a new survey from The Nielsen Company.
Several market researchers have speculated that 2010 would be the year in which consumers would regain their interest in sustainability – both in terms of the environment and wider ethical choices – as the world begins to emerge from the economic turmoil of the past two years...to read more click here.
A Walsh fellowship has been announced in collaboration with the Ashtown Food Research Centre. Please click here for further details. Closing date for applications is 22 July 2010, or until a suitable candidate is identified.
Shauna Devlin
Shauna Devlin, a 2nd year PhD student, has been awarded a travel grant by the Irish Society of Toxicology. This will enable her to visit the Connell Laboratory at the University of Maine, who are world renowned experts in sensor based detection of toxin producing algae and bacteria.
This will open up the opportunity to investigate the use of different detection methods to allow the simultaneous detection of Microcystins and Microcystin producing organisms.
Caroline Frizzell
Caroline Frizzell, a member of the ASSET research group and a part-time PhD student in IAFLU has recently been awarded a travel scholarship from the Irish Society of Toxicology.
Caroline will attend the Gordon Research Conference on Environmental Endocrine Disruptors, Les Diablerets, Switzerland on 30th May-4th June 2010. Here she will present a poster on her current project which investigates mycotoxins found in food and their potential to act as endocrine disruptors.
Food headlines related to the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano in Iceland have so far focused on the air transport chaos and its impact on imports and business travel. But with smoke still billowing from the volcano, the European Commission has started asking questions about how the ash cloud will affect food safety and animal health...to read more of the article, please click here.
The expensive "sheep's milk" cheese in a Manhattan market was really made from cow's milk. And a jar of "Sturgeon caviar" was, in fact, Mississippi paddlefish. Some honey makers dilute their honey with sugar beets or corn syrup, their competitors say, but still market it as 100 percent pure at a premium price...to read more of this article, click here.
ASSET recently said goodbye to a well respected collaborator who has worked with various members of the ASSET Team throughout the last year. Dr Hongtao Lei from The South China Agricultural University spent a year working with ASSET researchers on an international grant provided by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr Lei worked in close collaboration with Prof Elliott, Dr Haughey and Dr Chevalier on a number of highly important food safety projects. The first outcome of this collaboration is the publication of research work on melamine detection in foods in a high ranking international scientific journal. Other publications are likely to follow and a strong link between the two research groups has been formed. Everyone within ASSET wishes Dr Lei every success in his future.
At a round table meeting in the Netherlands organised by Alltech the underexposed subject of issues dealing with (trace) minerals in animal feeds were discussed. One of the speakers was David Byrne, former EU Commissioner for Health & Consumer Protection, who expressed his view on health risks associated with contaminants in minerals...to read more click here.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, today published the report of the Inter-Agency Review Group, chaired by Dr Patrick Wall, Associate Professor of Public Health at UCD established to examine the dioxin contamination incident, which occurred at the end of 2008...to read more click here.
The proposed legislation is the companion bill to the Food Safety Enhancement Act that passed the House back in July, and Hamburg said that she would like to see the Senate version more closely resemble that legislation. Crucially, the Senate bill does not allow the FDA to seize foods that fail to apply hazard analysis and controls as ‘adulterated’, as specified by the House...to read more click here.
The report, released at the second annual Global Food Safety Policy Forum in Washington DC, specifically targets the safety of food imports. It said that “gaps in enforcement and collaboration” undermine the efforts of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to prevent contaminated foods from entering the US...to read more click here.
The Department for Employment and Learning has invested £1.8m in a new all-Island research centre to help ensure improved animal heath and traceability.
The Centre for Assured, Safe and Traceable Food (ASSET) was officially opened today at the Agri-Food Conference at Queen’s University. The £1.8m investment is part of the Department’s ‘Strengthening the All-Island Research Base’ programme...to read more click here.
A new £2million Food Safety Centre, employing 20 people and offering direct help to the local £2.4billion agri-food industry was recently launched at Queen's University...to read more click here.
The centre for Assured, Safe and Traceable Food (Asset) will offer direct help to the local agri-food industry, which generates £2.4bn in sales, creates 2.2% of NI Gross Value Added and employs 12% of the private sector...to read more click here.
The European Crop Protection Association has expressed concern that restrictive EU regulation on pesticide use could stand in the way of global food security, following the UK’s Food Security Assessment.
The UK’s Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) published its assessment on Monday, as part of the government’s first major rethink of food strategy since the Second World War...to read more click here.
The UK government has called for a radical rethink of food production to secure sustainable food supplies at reasonable prices.
The documents are being published before the government finalises its first rethink of food strategy since the Second World War, due for publication this autumn, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Environment minister Hilary Benn put forward the argument for a reassessment of food supply in economic, public health and environmental terms...to read more click here.
The current system for monitoring and tracing Irish pork is inadequate and should be overhauled urgently, a highly critical report from the country’s Parliament has said.
The body’s agriculture committee delivered its damning verdict on Ireland’s food safety systems in the wake of the dioxin contamination of Irish pork products at the end of last year which cost the domestic industry EUR 100 million...to read more click here.
A new £2m facility which is opening at Queens will screen for contaminated products. The contents of processed food can come from multiple countries which may not have as stringent standards. The Centre for Assured, Safe and Traceable Food is being opened at Queen's University Belfast...to read more click here.
They expect they food to be safe and they expect it to be produced to exacting standards, Paul van Geldorp, Head of Unit of Bilateral International Relations at the European Commission's Health and Consumers Directorate General, told the recent World Meat Congress in Cape Town, South Africa...to read more click here.
Dr Simon Haughey - Moving Feed Forward
Senior Research Fellow Dr Simon Haughey of the ASSET Technology centre, Institute of Agri Food and Land Use, Queen's University Belfast has recently published a very interesting article on "Moving Feed Forward" in Food Safety Magazine's Insider column.
The article is available for download here
The article is also found on the Food Safety Magazine website here
University announces new postgraduate courses in Food Safety.
Click here for further information.