EU’s BIOTRACER Integrated Project to Hold General Meeting in Dublin
17 June 2008
Scientists involved in a major EU food traceability project will meet in Dublin in early July. BIOTRACER, a major €11 million research project in which Teagasc is involved, will hold its second general meeting from 2 – 4 July next.
What did the farmer feed the chicken you served for dinner last night? What about the cheese in your refrigerator? Do you know where the milk came from to make it or what the cows ate? What did the pigs eat before you ate the pork chop? If there is a recall of a food product, does the manufacturer know where the ingredients came from or where it was sold?
Kieran Jordan, Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre said: ”The BIOTRACER project through its research results aims to help governments and the public answer these and other questions. BIOTRACER will create tests and computer models to improve the tracing of accidental and deliberate microbial contamination of food and animal feed. One of the aims of this EU funded project is to ensure consumer confidence in European food and to support European industry, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. ”
The major achievements of this project so far include:
- Development of remote control sampling and analysis to detect food poisoning bacteria in air
- Use of computer modelling to help determine the source and fate of food poisoning bacteria
- Assessment of European preparedness for a deliberate or accidental attack on the food chain.
One of the objectives of the BIOTRACER Integrated Project is to improve the identification of micro-organisms in food and animal feed. With the number of EU members increasing, as well as increasing imports of food and feed to Europe, a standard format for tracking and tracing biocontaminants is necessary; BIOTRACER will help develop these standards using proven technologies in novel ways.
BIOTRACER has brought together experts from microbiology and computer software development as well as food retailers to take the results forward and improve food safety throughout Europe. BIOTRACER involves 46 organisations from 24 countries to tackle the problem of food and feed contamination.
Note to editors:
A Press Conference will take place on Wednesday, 2 July at 9.30am in the Crown Plaza Hotel, Dublin and at which the scientists involved in these developments will attend. There will be an opportunity to interact with them and to find out more about these exciting opportunities that have the potential to improve food safety and provide a basis for the competitive development of industry.
For more information, please contact:
Kieran Jordan, Jeffrey Hoorfar
Industry, Training and Dissemination Leader Coordinator, BIOTRACER Integrated
T: +35 32542451 Project
email: Kieran.Jordan@teagasc.ie
T: +45 22 76 83 55
email: jhoo@food.dtu.dk
