ICC, as partner of the PlantLIBRA consortium would like to invite interested laboratories and stakeholders to participate in an international network of laboratories capable of providing reliable high quality analytical data on plant and botanical preparations and/or to identify chemical and biological contaminants and/or assess irradiation treatment.
PlantLIBRA (acronym of Plant food supplements: Levels of Intake, Benefit and Risk Assessment, FP7 EC project number 245199) aims to foster the safe use of food supplements containing plants or botanical preparations, by increasing science-based decision-making by regulators and food chain operators.
PlantLIBRA - a project co-financed in the context of the 7th EU Framework Program - spans 4 continents and 25 partners, comprising leading academics, small- and medium sized enterprises, industry and no-profit organizations. The project is structured to develop, validate and disseminate data and methodologies for risk and benefit assessment and implement sustainable international cooperation. During its four years of length, PlantLIBRA will directly achieve a meta-database containing data on plant food supplement consumption, as well as on biologically active substances and contaminants.
PlantLIBRA works closely with EFSA and plans also cooperation with competent authorities and stakeholders.
Some 180 participants from 33 countries discussed new findings in clinical research and new developments of gluten-free foods and beverages as well as innovative and reliable analytical tools to assure absence of wheat gluten/gliadin and its analogues from barley, rye and oats in gluten-free labelled and naturally gluten-free foods. An additional topical emphasis was also given to the use of alternative and minor cereals for the development and production of GF foods and beveages. The record participation and the lively discussions at this specialized meeting showed growing interest and increased importance of GF for societies around the globe. The series of GF conferences will be continued after the successful meetings in Cork - Ireland (2007), Tampere - Finland (2010), and Vienna - Austria (2013), with the next one planned in Edmonton – Canada in 2016 and nominated for 2019 are the Netherlands.
NOTE: The lecture has been cancelled! The special workshop on 19 June 2013 takes place with a changed agenda.
Roland Poms, Secretary General of ICC and MoniQA Association will lecture on "Reference Materials and Method Validation in Food Safety Assurance" at BOKU - University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources, Vienna, Austria. Apart from enrolled MSc and PhD students, ICC and MoniQA members have access to a maximum of 10 places. If interested, please register by email to office [at] icc [dot] or [dot] at. The lectures, excursions and workshop activities are on 5 afternoons 17-21 June 2013, 13:00-17:00. Invited speakers from international standardisation organisations will enrich the workshop programme and give a global perspective and the value of international standards.
The aim of the workshop on "Reference materials and method validation in food safety assurance" is to describe the issues and challenges involved in the international comparability and validity of analytical results in the assurance of food safety and quality. On the basis of practical examples the focus will be on current hot topics, such as mycotoxins, food allergens, pathogenic micro-organisms, GMOs, etc., the analytical possibilities (including rapid methods), and the corresponding EU regulations. Additionally, an overview of international standardization bodies and examples of international validation studies will be given.
What started as a service open to HEALTHGRAIN Forum members only is now open to anyone with an interest in nutrition legislation with emphasis on EU regulations.
The Scientific & Regulatory Updates prepared by David Richardson, DPR Nutrition Limited, UK, and published by ICC Services GmbH, provide detailed information about legislative changes in the field of nutrition. The Updates, supported by legislative documents, provide detailed information about regulatory changes in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health which regulate health and nutrition claims in the EU; newly published EFSA scientific opinions; European Commission guidance documents, recommendations, and proposals for legislative changes; and regulatory changes at the level of the FAO and WHO.
To receive your Scientific & Regulatory Updates and any supporting documents, you need to subscribe and sign up at icc-gmbh [at] icc [dot] or [dot] at
The Scientific & Regulatory Updates appear 10 times per year. A yearly subscription per institution costs € 1,000 + VAT.
Download an example Scientific & Regulatory Update here.
The Mycotoxin Summer Academy (MSA) from 1 - 12 July 2013 offers two subsequent one-week training courses. The first week provides an overview on the significance and properties of mycotoxins and toxigenic fungi including their determination and characterization. The second week is dedicated to various aspects of liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) especially for multi-analyte approaches to determine mycotoxins.
Some 200 participants from some 40 countries attended the 4th MoniQA International Conference in Budapest, Hungary. The main focus of the conference was "Food Safety under Global Pressure of Climate Change, Food Security and Economic Crises".
Emerging issues and the various aspects of the interrelation between food safety, food security, economy development and globalization were presented and discussed in some 80 oral presentations in 20 technical sessions and close to 80 posters. The 6 keynote speakers at the start and at the end of the conference embedded the conference topics in both a global picture of the current situation as well as gave an expert glimpse into the future. We were proud to have had the following keynote speakers with us:
MoniQA is a broad and diverse network of partner organisations working in the area of food safety and quality management, method development and validation. One of MoniQA's services to its members and with this also one of the great advantages of being part of such a network is to facilitate participation at national and international research undertakings. Since its launch in September 2011, MoniQA has involved some 20 members in several research projects and/or proposals.
Currently MoniQA and its partners are involved in the preparation of 6 new projects.
Invited representatives from Standardisation Organisations around the globe will kick-off the discussion on priorities and main requirements for design, production and validation of Reference Materials for food allergen and gluten-free analysis. This first meeting is hosted by Trilogy Laboratories/R-Biopharm, one of MoniQA's members in Washington, Missouri, USA. The meeting's aim is to draft a first list of priority materials and to identify key points to be included in a potential future guidance document for the production of such materials. MoniQA will invite to a follow-up meeting to an extended discussion forum for MoniQA members and representatives of other invited research institutions/method providers/and regulatory agents in connection with the Gluten-Free Symposium in Vienna, Austria, 12-14 June 2013.
The new MoniQA Annual Report 2012 is now available as pdf document for downloading. It highlights the achievements of the FP7 funded Network of Excellence from 2007 till 2012 and some of the new activities of the MoniQA Association established in 2011. Please find the link for downloading the report below in high and low resolution.
A Regional Expert Advisory Working Group Meeting was held in Jahorina, Bosnia on: Risk Assessment, Risk Management and Control related to Aflatoxins in South Eastern Europe, 4th/5th April 2013.
The meeting was called upon by the Ministers of Agriculture of the Balkan region, which was recently affected by aflatoxins in maize and milk. The aflatoxin issue had also spread to West European trading partners. The meeting was organised by the South Eastern Europe Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group based in Skopje, Macedonia. Approximately 30 participants from Balkan countries attended the meeting. Two external experts, Frans Verstraete (European Commission, DG-SANCO, Brussels, Belgium) and Hans van Egmond (RIKILT Institute of Food Safety, Wageningen UR, the Netherlands) were found to be available to attend the meeting, after an urgent call from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations through the Network of the MoniQA Association. The meeting resulted in recommendations that were immediately presented to the joint ministers to enable management decisions and adequate measures to resolve the aflatoxin problems in the Balkan region. The day after the meeting these recommendations were ratified at the political level.
The case shows how the MoniQA Association can successfully provide expertise from its members at short notice, in case of emerging food and feed safety issues.
A big Thank You to the two experts!
The 2nd FOODSEG Symposium will be held in Bucharest, Romania from 14th to 15th of June 2013.
For further information please visit www.b2match.eu/foodseg2013.
The objective of the EU supported research project FRISBEE (Food Refrigeration Innovations for Safety, consumers’ Benefit, Environmental impact and Energy optimization along the cold chain in Europe) is to provide new tools, concepts and solutions for improving refrigeration technologies along the European food cold chain. At all stages the needs of consumer and European industry will be considered. Among the tasks of the project is to develop new innovative mathematical modeling tools that combine food quality and safety together with energy, environmental and economic aspects to predict and control food quality and safety in the cold chain.
In order to gain a greater insight into deviations between real cold chain data and targeted specifications, a web based platform for building a comprehensive Cold Chain database has been set up: http://www.frisbee-project.eu/coldchaindb.html
From your published work and research activities or your company's activities you have been identified as a potential contributor. As a contributor, you will have privileged access to the Cold Chain Database (by login and password) and the access to the database will be secured.
Your input will be valuable in updating and extending the already released First European Cold Chain Database which is serving as a valuable tool to people and organizations that like you have contributed and are involved in the Cold Chain as researchers or industrial players.
ICC, MoniQA and HealthGrain Forum were presented at the AACCI Annual Meeting 2012 in Hollywood, Florida, USA, 30 September - 3 October 2012, in a joint exhibition table top, in the poster session, and in oral presentations during the ICC Luncheon 2012. Roland Poms from ICC arranged for the dissemination activities and represented the three associations at the AACCI Annual Meeting 2012. The conference and exhibition counted some 1100 delegates and some 50 old and new friends of ICC enjoyed the traditional ICC Luncheon and an update on ICC activities.
ICC is looking forward to the next ICC Luncheon at the AACCI Annual Meeting 2013 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 29 September - 2 October 2013.
Further info: www.aaccnet.org/meetings/annual/Pages/default.aspx
ICC and MoniQA were represented by Roland Poms at the latest meeting of the PWG (prolamin working group) in Leuven, Belgium, 20-22 September 2012, where new clinical research results were presented and food analytical challenges were discussed. Collaboration between the PWG, ICC and MoniQA was reaffirmed especially related to the design and potential production of a new reference material and in organising technical sessions at upcoming conferences, such as the 4th MoniQA International Conference in Budapest, Hungary, 26 February – 1 March 2013 and the 3rd International Gluten Free Conference in Vienna, Austria, 12-14 June 2013.
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