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• Communications Workshop for PhD Students and Post-doctoral researchers (7-8th October 2008, Rome Italy) organised jointly IFR and RTDS
• Food Safety and Risk Assessment (14th October 2008-18th October 2008, Nanjing, China) organised by CCOA
• Developments in Bakery Food-Safety Management (20th October 2008, Ankara, Turkey) organised jointly by CCFRA and HCTU
• Developments in Bakery Food-Safety Management (23rd October 2008, Istanbul, Turkey) organised jointly by CCFRA and HCTU
• Food safety issues in the cereal-based food chain (8th-10th December 2008, Budapest, Hungary) organised by BUTE
• Criteria approach for method validation (March 2009, Budapest, Hungary) organised jointly by BUTE and ICC

Lilla Dömötör from BUTE has recently participated in the second MoniQA workshop in Vienna (14-18th April 2008). Click here to read her report, entitled "Broadening My Horizon".

Traceability - MoniQA report outlines state of play

Obtaining and retaining consumer trust is vital for the food industry. Traceability is a key tool in this regard - which is why the MoniQA project has been looking at the current state-of-play and the potential for traceability technologies. Click here to read more.

MoniQA takes a close look at IT hazard control systems

How and to what extent are HACCP safety management systems implemented in the food sector? What is the potential of modern technology to further improve them? These questions will be addressed by MoniQA, which will gather data from key actors in the field. Click here to learn more.

The MoniQA working groups are dealing with several key issues in food quality and safety, namely Microbiological Contaminants, Mycotoxin/ Phycotoxins, Chemical Contaminants, Food Allergens, Food Additives and Food Authenticity, and Qualitative Methods Validation. Additionally, socio-economic issues will be considered as a cross-cutting factor in all working groups. More information about the thematic priorities and the corresponding working groups is available in the first MoniQA factsheet (pdf file).

The governance of food safety - a web of rules, standards and regulations

Line Friis Lindner from ICCR provides a comprehensive overview of the development of the present European policy framework governing food quality, starting from the food scandals of the mid-1990s to the divergent approach to risk in the EU, US and the WTO. The summary of her analysis is available at http://www.moniqa.org/index.php?id=121266

Food Allergen websites for children and young adults

A lot of websites feature information about different aspects of food safety. In this section of our newsletter we will feature some of them. This time we are focusing on how to convey important food safety information to children and their parents, and teenagers. Click here to read our reviews of the two websites "FaanKids" and "Frantic about food".

Upcoming Events: 1st International MoniQA Conference "Increasing trust in rapid analysis for food safety"
8-10 October, 2008 Rome (IT)

The first International MoniQA Conference will address Rapid and High Throughput Methods for Safety Assessment, Global Harmonisation of Validation and Standardisation Strategies, and Socio-Economic Impact of Current and Future Food Safety Regulations.

The conference targets food manufacturers using HACCP systems, developers and providers of rapid- and high-throughput analytical methods, standardisation and validation organisations, research institutes, policy makers and regulatory bodies as well as representatives of consumer and trade organisations, and researchers in associated fields of expertise.

The programme is based on the MoniQA thematic priorities: Microbiological Contaminants, Mycotoxins/Phycotoxins, Chemical Contaminants, Food Allergens, Food Addititives and Processing Contaminants as well as Food Authenticity.

MoniQA Related Events in Review

Check out http://www.moniqa.org/index.php?id=121050 for reviews of the following recent MoniQA related events:

• CSL / JIFSAN Joint Symposium on Food Safety and Nutrition - Developing responses to emerging global food safety issues, 18-20th June 2008, Central Science Laboratory, York, UK
• 2008 BIO International Convention, 17-20th June, 2008, San Diego, USA
• 5th Workshop on Food Allergen Methodologies, 11-14th May 2008 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• ISO-International Workshop Agreement on Bulk Sampling, 14-16th May 2008 Seattle, Washington, USA

MoniQA Scores High in Evaluation and is Going Strong in Year 2

MoniQA was reviewed by independent experts on behalf of the European Commission earlier this year. The experts concluded that MoniQA has fully achieved its objectives and technical goals and has exceeded expectations. Out of 27 evaluation items MoniQA was marked "good/excellent" in 22. In MoniQA's second year we are continuing our work in the same spirit. The MoniQA working groups are currently in the process of drawing up position papers and we have continued and enlarged our mobility and exchange programme. Work also continues on the development of a database for food safety hazards and on the socio-economic impact. For more information on the evaluation of MoniQA and our "first birthday" take a look at our press release at http://www.moniqa.org/system/files/pagefiles/MOniQA_press_year1_final2.pdf.
For a detailed analysis of our progress in year two go to our website at http://www.moniqa.org/node/230.

MoniQA Welcomes New Associated Partners

MoniQA offers interested stakeholder such as small and medium-size businesses, industry and research organisations as well as other entities the chance to become an Associated Partner. So far, more than 35 organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and have become official Associated Partners. For more information on how to join take a look at the “About MoniQA” section below or click on our FAQ http://www.moniqa.org/associates

What is harmonisation?

"Harmonisation" is one of the buzz words of our time - but what exactly does it mean? Our experts shed light on the general meaning of the term and MoniQA harmonisation activities on a strategic, technical and socio-economic level in the MoniQA harmonisation FAQ available at http://www.moniqa.org/node/255

More and more foods are being traded around the world. Ensuring that these are of high quality and safe to eat requires reliable food analysis techniques. However, different countries currently use different methods to test foods for potentially harmful substances and micro-organisms.

MoniQA ("Monitoring and Quality Assurance in the Food Supply Chain") is funded by the European Union. This Network of Excellence (NoE) aims to make food safer by harmonising methods for food analyses. The project is coordinated by the Vienna-based International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC). More than 155 researchers and scientist (including 40 PhD students) from 33 international partners from 20 countries are involved in MoniQA.

Join us!

MoniQA offers associated partnerships interested organisations, SMEs and institutions. In principle Associated Partners will benefit from

• Favourable conditions for participation in MONIQA events
• Collaboration and involvement in Working Groups
• Consideration for partnering in new projects
• Involvement and selective invitation to expert panels
• Voluntary participation in the "Integration" and "Dissemination" programmes
• Future offers (subscriber fees are likely) include:
• participation in exchange and mobility programmes
• access to the MoniQA databases

This newsletter is published by the MoniQA consortium. Every effort has been made to ensure that information is accurate at the time of going to print but no liability will be accepted for losses caused by inaccurate information.