Working Group I

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WORKING GROUP I
Achieving and guaranteeing quality and safety
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Achieving and Guaranteeing Food Quality and
Safety
1) Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) pros
and cons 2) Marketing Power or Consumer
Choice? 3) The Impact of Food Quality/Safety on
Human Health
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GMOs The Pros

• More food for less Land/ Water/
  Fertilizers/Pesticides etc.
• Preserving the Environment Targeted pesticides
• Human Health Fight Malnutrition, New Medicines
• Design the Perfect Crop!

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GMOs The Cons

• Dangers for human health Creation of new
  allergens/toxins
• Environmental effects Loss of biodiversity,
  Gene Trasfer, Creation of Superweeds
• Difficult to predict/understand long term
  consequences

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What We Discovered

• Lots we didnt understand about GMOs
• Remember most Cons Apply to Conventional
  Farming Is conventional farming good for human
  health/the environment?
• Economics of GMOs and Impact in the Developing
  World Cost of seed, Terminators, Who owns the
  Patents?
• GMOs the only Solution to World Hunger

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The Way Forward?

• Communication Who knows the facts?
• - Scientists to Leaders
• - Educating the Consumer
• - Traceability of GMOs Farm to Fork
• Legislation Not too much, not too little
• - More public funding for research?
• - Integrated EU standards for GMOs (labelling)
• - Not too heavy handed encourage research

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Marketing power or consumer choice?
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Is this your shopping list?
So where is the chewing gum youre gonna buy?
gg
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Marketing creates demand on the consumers side.
The consumer is never exempt from marketing
influences!
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• Every consumer is Different
• Education
• Income
• Personal preferences
• (pop) culture

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• The developed world
• a problem of luxury
• safe ? healthy food (fast food)
• advertisements for calory/fats/sugar rich
  products
• causing overweight and obesity
• irrational consumer choice

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• The developing world
• marketing kills cultural diversity
• going from rice to fries (malnutrition)
• lack of education and regulation increases
  marketing effects on buying behaviour

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Marketing Information ? Manipulation
? Consumer (Really as defenseless ?)
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• Consumer influencing the market
• fair trade
• awareness/ education
• consumer movements and boycotts
• brand management

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Regulatory framework (consumer
power) Regulation should take into account the
special nature of food markets
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Does food quality and safety go hand in hand with
human health?
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Safety Quality?
Developing countries vs? Developed countries
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What has been done?

• International Regulations (WHO, FAO, EFSA, )
• Standardization of production
• Traceability (HACCP)
• Food Chain

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Crops (pesticides) Cattle (antibiotics)
Strong treatments (UHT, sterilization) Additives
Packaging Distribution and storage
Hazards foodborne diseases, carcinogenic
elements, toxins, newly formed compounds
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Hot Topics

• Alternative farming
• GMO
• Organic food
• New food products
• Highly energetic
• Functional
• Prevention Information

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Conclusion