The European Association for Food Safety

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The European Association for Food Safety
By many people better known as the SAFE
consortium
Has existed as an international organisation
since October 2002
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The European Association for Food Safety
Six Institutes agreed to combine their scientific
knowledge, expertise and experience in order to
promote food safety in Europe. - Institute of
Food Research (United Kingdom) - lInstitut
National de la Recherche Agronomique (France) -
TNO Nutrition and Food Research (Netherlands) -
VTT Biotechnology (Finland) - Wageningen
University and Research Ctr (Netherlands -
ISPA-CNR (Italy)
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The European Association for Food Safety
The first SAFE consortium goals and objectives
were to organise common small and big projects in
the EU framework programmes and manage these
projects from a central office in Brussels
HOWEVER The Commission made it clear that she
would be willing to co-operate with a broad and
open association and rather not with a small
exclusive elite club
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The European Association for Food Safety
Therefore
The Annual General Meeting of the European
Association for Food Safety (the SAFE consortium)
decided on April 2nd 2004 In a growing and
integrating Europe, the SAFE consortium should be
represented in the majority of the 25 EU member
states, in the Associated Countries and in the
new Candidate Member States. To achieve this
goal, the SAFE consortium started attracting the
membership of institutes from the current and the
new EU states and the Associated States.
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The European Association for Food Safety

• By January 1st 2005 the following
• new members joined
• NFC Teagasc Dublin Ireland
• CFRI KEKI Budapest Hungary
• IRTA Barcelona Spain
• Agroscope Berne Switzerland
• Tubitak Marmara Turkey
• KVL Copenhagen Denmark

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The European Association for Food Safety

• Followed in 2006 by the following
• new members
• BfR Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, Berlin
  Germany
• NVH Norwegian Veterinary University, Oslo
• Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade
  Catolica de Portugal, Porto

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EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR FOOD SAFETY The SAFE
consortium
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EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR FOOD SAFETY The SAFE
consortium

• The requirements for a full membership according
  to the SAFE consortium Articles of Association
  (Statutes)
• The institutes should have a scientific integrity
  guaranteed by the unlimited right to publish in
  the public interest.
• i.e. have the possibility to speak freely about
  food safety issues not hampered by their links to
  government and industry
• 2. The institutes should show academic quality,
  proven by publications in international
  scientific journals.

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The European Association for Food Safety

• The SAFE consortium interprets Food Safety
  Sciences in a broad sense
• microbiology, (classical, predictive and
  molecular)
• molecular genetics and genomics for food safety
• toxicology (chemical, veterinary pharmaceutical
  and biological),
• allergy and food intolerance
• exposure assessment and risk evaluation
• risk assessment, (risk management, risk
  communication)
• existing and novel food technologies
• packaging technology
• consumer sciences.
• For the complete chains of food and feed
  production
• primary production processing packaging
  transportation distribution retail -
  consumption and consumer issues
• Geographical operating area All of the 25
  European Union member states,
• the Associated Countries Iceland, Norway,
  Switzerland, Israel, Turkey and
• the new candidate members Romania, Bulgaria,
  Croatia

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• Official Mission as stated in the Statutes is
  to
• stimulate the public debate in Europe on the
  scientific aspects of food safety, by making
  available up-to-date knowledge from institutes
  whose scientific integrity is guaranteed by the
  unlimited right to publish in the public
  interest.
• Goals
• 1. Work together to develop and promote
  interdisciplinary research projects and
  partnerships in the Framework Programmes of the
  European Commission and its institutions,
  national governments and food authorities.
• 2. Participate in the public debate on food
  safety issues by organising congresses,
  conferences, seminars and workshops,
  participating in conferences and workshops given
  by others and by other activities like
  communications on the web site or in print.
• 3. Be the independent spokesman on behalf of the
  member institutes concerning view points in the
  food safety arena, e.g. by participation in EU
  networks and projects.
• This can be done on invitation as well as on the
  consortiums own initiative focus will be on
  issues that concern industrial as well as
  governmental actors in the food chain and its
  management.

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The European Association for Food Safety
1. Work together to develop and promote
interdisciplinary research projects and
partnerships in the Framework Programmes of the
European Commission and its institutions,
national governments and food authorities.
The consortium started activities preparing
to play a very active role in the Seventh
Framework Programme.
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The European Association for Food Safety
2. Participate in the public debate on food
safety issues by organising congresses,
conferences, seminars and workshops, participating
in conferences and workshops given by others and
by other activities like communications on the
web site or in print.

• Issues addressed
• Food composition and analysis
• Risk-benefit evaluation
• Functional Foods
• Novel Foods / GMO
• Trans and conjugated fatty acids
• Phyto-estrogens
• Food processing and safety
• Consumer research on food safety

• 235 registrants
• 37 invited speakers
• 9 exhibitors
• 6 sponsors
• gt 120 posters
• gt 30 orals
• Abstract book ISSN 1819-7779
• Next congress probably
• November 2008 Girona Spain
• Subject microbial genomics

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The European Association for Food Safety

• 3.
• Be the independent spokesman on behalf of the
  member institutes
• concerning view points in the food safety arena,
  e.g. by participation in
• EU networks and projects. Focus will be on issues
  that concern industrial
• as well as governmental actors in the food chain
  and its management.
• Examples will be given in the following sheets

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The European Association for Food Safety
Co-operation between
and
Pre-SAFEFOODERA first competition, then
co-operation in proposal development. Contents
Investigation on current and future food safety
issues in the participating countries. Expansion
Investigation of the possible extension of
SAFEFOODERA to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech
and Slovak Republics, Romania, Bulgaria and other
countries. Organising the stakeholder meetings
from November 2006 to April 2007. Future
Develop a vision on the future of food safety
research in Europe and develop projects and
research structures that will follow the current
generation food safety projects and networks.
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European Technology Platform Food for Life
http//etp.ciaa.be
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Technology Platforms Central Concept

• New Instrument to strengthen the European-wide
  innovation process (address the so-called
  European paradox)
• (Industry led) Framework to unite stakeholders
  around
• a common VISION for the technology concerned
• definition of a STRATEGIC RESEARCH AGENDA
• develop and execute an IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

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The House of the ETP
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ETP Food Safety Goals

• Assuring safe foods that consumers can trust
• Predicting and monitoring the behaviour and fate
  of relevant known and emerging biological hazards
• Predicting and monitoring the behaviour and fate
  of relevant known and emerging chemical hazards
  including toxins of biological origin
• Improving risk assessment and risk-benefit
  evaluation
• Developing tools to ensure security of the food
  chain
• Understanding and addressing consumer concerns
  with food safety issues

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ETP Board and Operational Committee
Prof. Peter van Bladeren Vice-President for
Research, Nestlé (CH) CHAIRMAN Ms Daniela
Israelachwili, General Director of CIAA (BE) Mr
Rudolf Schwarzböck, President of Copa Cogeca (BE)
Mr Daniele Rossi, General Director of
Federalimentari Italy (IT) Dr Alphons Schmid,
Chairman Regulatory Committee of Eurocommerce
(NL) Prof. Brian McKenna, President of EFFoST
(IE) Prof. David White, Chairman of Foodforce
(UK) Dr Juergen Kohnke, President of FEI (D) Ms
Kelly Duffin-Maxwell, Vice-President for RD,
Kraft Foods (D) Dr Hans Elbek Pedersen,
Vice-President of Danisco A/S (DK) Dr Didier
Bonnet, Director of Cargill European Technology
Centre (DK) Dr Andras Sébok, General Manager,
Camden Chorleywood Hungary (HU) Dr Lisbeth
Munksgaard, Director of the Centre for Advanced
Food Studies (DK) Prof. Michael Gibney,
University of Dublin (IE) Dr Jan Maat Unilever
(NL), Chairman Dr Michele Conti Rome (IT),
Communication Training and Technology Transfer Dr
Harmen Hofstra, Brussels (BE), Food Safety Prof
Dietrich Knorr, Berlin (D), Food quality and
manufacturing Prof Thomas Ohlsen, Goteborg (S),
Sustainable food production Prof Wim Saris,
Delft/Maastricht (NL), Food and Health Prof
Gerhard Schiefer, Bonn (D), Food Chain
Management Prof Hans van Trijp, Wageningen (NL),
Food and Consumer Prof Willem de Vos, Wageningen
and Dr Roger Fenwick, Norwich (UK), Intra-ETP
activities
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Future co-operation of Pan-European Networks in
Food Sciences, Safety and Technology
SAFE consortium
SAFEFOODERA
Funders
Scientists
Good contents and infrastructure
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Future co-operation of Pan-European Networks in
Food Sciences, Safety and Technology
national reference labs
SAFEFOODERA
SAFE consortium
National Governments
Funders (bureacrats)
Optimal conditions for Research, Development and
Training
Scientists
EU Commission DG-Research EFSA
EFFoST
Industry
ILSI
ETP Food for Life et al.
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Future co-operation of Pan-European Networks in
Food Sciences, Safety and Technology Beyond
SAFEFOODERA
Network of national and EU Funders All EU MS and
AMS
Network of scientific research institutes and
universities members in all EU MS and AMS
Funders (bureacrats)
Optimal conditions for Research, Development and
Training
Scientists
Industry
ETP