Francis Butler, University College Dublin

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Francis Butler, University College Dublin
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• Schain is a Specific targeted Research Project
  (STREP)
• Call details FP6-2004-FOOD-3-B
• Priority Action 5 Food Quality and Safety
  Integrating Strengthening the ERA
• Area 5.4.4 Traceability processes along the
  production chain
• Topic T5.4.4.2 Vulnerability of food and feed
  chains to dangerous agents and substances

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• 10 partners from the European Union, Norway and
  Brazil
• Three year project, started 1 April 2006
• EU funding of 2.93 million
• The project coordinated by University College
  Dublin
• Overall objective is to develop methodologies to
  optimise the traceability process with respect to
  chain vulnerability to contamination

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Project Partners
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• Overall Objective
• Develop a framework to identify and prioritise
  critical links of the food chain regarding
  contamination with dangerous agents and
  substances.
• Undertake a case study on chain mapping for four
  selected "high-risk" products
• water
• milk powder
• poultry meat
• farmed salmon
• Develop a risk model of the vulnerability of the
  chains to contamination
• Condense the outputs into a Stakeholders' Guide
  to the identification and management of
  contamination risks in the food and feed chains

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Workpackage 1 Development of a Framework to
identify and prioritise critical chain links

• A theoretical FRAMEWORK will be developed that
  will address the identification of critical links
  (including the contaminants associated with
  each), prioritise these in terms of risk ranking
  and present strategies for corrective measures.
• Creation of a database of possible contaminants
• This WP will use the CASE STUDIES in WP2 as its
  "trial ground" on which it will build the
  FRAMEWORK
• The RISK MODELS emerging from WP3 will be used to
  enable risk prioritisation to be included in the
  FRAMEWORK.

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Workpackage 2 Case studies on food chain
vulnerability to contamination

• The WP will examine in detail the chains
  associated with drinking water, poultry meat,
  milk powder and farmed salmon
• This Workpackage is fundamental to the
  development of a conceptual framework (WP1) for
  chain vulnerability assessment and validation
  (WP4).

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WP3 Risk Modelling Ranking

• A computer-based RISK MODEL will be developed
  which will enable risk values to be assigned to
  various food chain contamination scenarios
• The risks will take account of chain integrity
• ease of entry via a node
• contamination types
• systems operations scenarios
• The model development team will use the case
  studies in WP2 as examples on which to base the
  risk models
• The models will be further developed in a generic
  fashion, making them applicable to other food
  chains

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WP4 Framework Validation and Development of the
Stakeholder's Guide

• Validate the FRAMEWORK developed in WP1
• Prepare a STAKEHOLDERS' GUIDE to food chain
  vulnerability to contamination

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Stakeholders Guide

• Project outputs will be synthesized into a
  Stakeholders' Guide to food and feed chain
  vulnerability to contamination
• The Guide will be in book format, supported by
  software that facuilitates the stakeholder to
  input specific chain data for a product and
  assess contamination risks
• It will also enable the stakeholder to examine
  risk minimisation options (viz. corrective
  measures), such as enhanced security of the most
  vulnerable links
• This software will be accessible on this project
  web portal

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Current issues

• Development of chains for the four products
• Development of contaminant database for the
  products
• Development of common methodology for mapping
  chains
• Developing a risk ranking protocol for
  contaminants

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Thank You

• Further Information
• www.sigmachain.eu