Work in progress - period 2 (M18-30)

On this page we provide an overview of currently ongoing work within the MoniQA project. This is not a comprehensive list but consists of selected “highlights”. For more information please look at the activities overview or contact us.

Working together (integration):

• Continuous development and updating of the research infrastructure database is in progress. Further development will aim at better usability and user-friendliness. This will largely be a user feedback driven process.
• Personnel exchange and mobility: In addition to reviewing applications and collating reports from those personnel awarded Exchange and Mobility Programme awards, the effectiveness of the Programme will be assessed in terms of (1) integration across the consortium and (2) MONIQA strategic objectives.
• The concept for sustainability of the MoniQA project beyond the 5 years of EU funding is being further developed. Among one of the strategies, the joint MoniQA/ICC Journal is currently being established and the working groups will provide the core of the first issue (see below for more information). There will also be a concept developed for a concerted stakeholder approach.

• Harmonisation and standardisation of analytical methods: The thematic working groups (WGs) have the common goal to develop strategies and guidelines for harmonisation of risk assessment and standardisation of analytical methods and technologies in food safety and quality. The WGs will generate thematic position papers that will be the basis for the elaboration of the first draft of harmonisation strategies and guidelines. The working groups are currently collecting validation protocols and criteria used for method validation by (inter) national organisations. Furthermore, the groups identify reference methods and reference materials used for validation/standardisation of new/rapid quantitative, semi-quantitative, and qualitative screening methods. Finally the applicability of the collected methods and validation procedures for HACCP systems is surveyed and evaluated. For this purpose a HACCP questionnaire is being developed.
• Development of a database for food safety hazards: The pilot database is being updated and information collected by the project is currently incorporated in the database where appropriate. Additionally the search capability of the database is being extended. Some work will also focus on the development of a thesaurus of terms and definitions related to food safety hazards, analytical methodology, and standardisation/validation.
• Socio-economic impact: an evaluation framework for the assessment of regulations in the field of food quality and safety is being defined. The evaluation framework distinguishes between different types of impacts (economic production, trade, health, environmental, social etc.) and their timeline (outputs, results, outcomes) and matches these to different analytical and formal aggregation techniques. Additionally international partners will be integrated through two demonstration activities. Our socio-economic activities are also concerned with building a bridge between the natural scientists and the social science as well as developing models to assess the socio-economic impact on a micro-level.

• The MoniQA website is currently further developed in order to feature the concrete output of the project. This includes executive summaries of all project results which will be made available through the website. An external newsletter will be produced for external stakeholders of the project. Additionally results of the MoniQA papers will be communicated to via scientific publications and through material developed for the media. A series of factsheets will feature the project results in accessible format.
• MoniQA scientific journal: The MoniQA journal with the tentative title “Quality Assurance and Safety of Crop Foods” disseminates the project results and related research among the stakeholders – in particular the science and research community. The journal will be published in cooperation with ICC and tentatively printed by Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
• Joint education & training: Existing training and education programmes from non network partners will be analysed, thereby complementing the existing analysis of those activities already offered by MoniQA partners. A joint education/training concept will be prepared based on the results. Furthermore research management and technical trainings are being offered to MoniQA partners and all interested stakeholders - the so called “MoniQA Food Scientist Training” (MFST).

Work in progress- period 1 (M1-18)

This page provides an overview of the state-of-play in various MoniQA related activities.

1. Establishing priorities and working groups
A variety of food safety and quality assessment issues deserve our attention. Based on internal and external consultation, we have decided to concentrate on six priority topics and eight common issues. These are:

Accordingly, working groups have been established with the tasks of working across the work packages (WP) to harmonise activities. Input from stakeholders and the Advisory Panel will also be sought.

2. Building the network
The MoniQA database provides an overview of the available skills and competencies within the consortium. It will help to facilitate close cooperation and (potentially) the merging of activities (including whole research groups or departments) by providing key information on the availability of specific relevant appliances, research interests and information on future strategies. Currently, the consortium database contains information from online questionnaires but in the future information from other questionnaires and our activities will be included.

3. Initiating new research co-operation
"MoniQA aims to establish a scientific network and to provide the necessary infrastructure to boost international research co-operations in the area of food quality and safety assessment." Within the consortium partners have begun setting up research proposals to be funded by national and/or international sources. Several EU partners are involved in FP7 proposals while those outside the EU (e.g. New Zealand, China) are applying for national funding for complementary research activities.

4. Databases
Two databases have been initiated within MoniQA.
The ‘consortium database’ provides us information about competencies, special equipment and expertise within MoniQA (see item 2). The other - the ‘research database’ - allows searching for analytical methods for specific analyses including information on the degree of validation, legal requirements, legal limits, and availability. These databases will be extended and updated on a regular basis. The Consortium Database is only available for internal use whilst the Research Database will become publicly accessible in the future, on basis of a user-fee.

5. Working for better regulations
"MoniQA deals with the systematic assessment of new regulations in the field of food quality and safety."
MoniQA will set evaluation criteria (e.g. effectiveness, efficiency and consistency) and will compare the impact of different options in qualitative, quantitative and monetary terms. The project will also assess the administrative costs imposed by new regulations in the field of food quality and safety. In this respect, members of the MoniQA consortium and representatives from the European Commission’s Secretariat General, DG Enterprise, DG SANCO, DG Environment and DG Finance met for a workshop in Brussels 23 March 2007. In a follow-up meeting at the University of Bonn, Germany, 5 June 2007, input from EU and USA experts in socio-economics and new regulations was also sought.

6. Mobility programme and student exchanges
Mobility of researches and students will be encouraged by setting up an Exchange and Mobility programme, which initially will be for MoniQA partners only. However, the programme could extended to Associates and invited experts in the future. The Exchange and Mobility programme will include bursaries for attending workshops and grants for short- and long-term research visits.

7. Meetings and other events
Meetings are an integral part of the MoniQA Network. After the kick-off Meeting in Vienna, Austria (20-22 March 2007) the MoniQA consortium met again in Glasgow, UK (5-7 September 2007) and in Athens, Greece (February 12-14, 2008) to discuss the progress achieved and the challenges ahead. In addition to various the various meetings during the year, MoniQA also provides scientific and administrative staff with training, e.g. MoniQA Workshops in Vienna, Austria and Guangzhou, China. For knowledge transfer and networking with organisations external to MoniQA, workshops and conferences as well as specific MoniQA sessions at international events have been initiated, such as

• Technical session on food safety at the 13th International Conference for Grain & Oil Science and Technology, Guangzhou, China, 20-22 June 2007;
• ICC Workshop on animal feed and its contribution to human health in Glasgow, UK, 2-5 September 2007;
• Consensus Conference on Bulk Sampling of Grains in Seattle, USA, 14 -17 May 2008;
• Joint Training workshop for Codex Alimentarius “Measurement Uncertainty” Budapest, HU, 9 March 2008 and in Seattle, USA, 18 May 2008
• MoniQA International Congress on Food Safety Assessment, Italy, 8-10 October 2008.