News articles

Report from the Joint MoniQA/IAM Workshop for Codex Alimentarius (CCMAS) "Sampling Uncertainty"

Over 70 participants attended the annual Joint MoniQA/IAM Workshop for Codex Alimentarius which was held 2 March 2014 in Budapest, Hungary. Chaired by Richard Cantrill, AOCS and Roland Poms, ICC, this year's event focused on "Sampling issues in the light of new approaches and existing Codex Standards". The featured presentations from Roger Wood, Chairman of the Inter-Agency Meeting; Árpád Ambrus, Hungarian Food Safety Office; Steve Ellison, LGC; Astrid Nordbotten, Norwegian Food Safety Authority and Roger Kissling, Fonterra Ltd. were made available to MoniQA members and participants. MoniQA is now collecting ideas and needs for the next Joint IAM/MoniQA Workshop linked to the Codex Alimentarius CCMAS meeting in Budapest in 2015, please send your comments and ideas to moniqa [at] moniqa [dot] org. To join MoniQA, please go to www.moniqa.org.

FAO Conference in Sochi, Russia

Roland Poms, Secretary General of MoniQA, was invited to give a talk on Food Allergen Management at an International Conference entitled “Food Safety and Risk Analysis” which was held in Sochi, Russia, 18-19 May 2017. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian Federal Agency for Wellbeing, Consumer Rights and Consumer Protection were jointly organizing this meeting.

MoniQA at the 1st APGC – First ICC Asia-Pacific Grain Conference took place in Xiamen, China



The ICC Asia-Pacific Grains Conference (APGC) which was co-organised by ICC - The International Association for Cereal Science and Technology and CCOA - The Chinese Cereals and Oils Association (both MoniQA Founder Members), took place in Xiamen, China, 21-24 May 2017.

Renew your Membership in MoniQA now! Not a member yet? Here are some reasons to consider

It is time again to renew your MoniQA Association Membership for another year and benefit from MoniQA's international network and a variety of activities and services (details can be found on www.moniqa.org/about/association).

Some membership benefits are listed as follows:

  • Easy access and interaction with a global network of experts
  • Easy access and involvement in international research proposals and projects funded by the EU, UNO, Bill Gates Foundation, governments, etc.
  • Training and education opportunities for teachers and students at universities and companies around the globe
  • Easy access to information and grants for personnel exchanges and mobility of researchers, trainers, teachers and students
  • Better international visibility of your institution
  • Discounts on conference, workshop, webinar participation
  • Qualifying to organise your own MoniQA conference or workshop or webinar at your institute or in your country
  • Use the membership and joint achievements to increase your impact and significance in your own country and internationally, which can be important to join a consortium or qualify for a grant or for a tender
  • Privileged information and pre-publication information on upcoming calls and tenders
  • Technical support and access to rare/expensive infra-structure
  • Get involved in collaborative projects, studies, initiatives
  • Exclusive job offers for professionals, students and trainees

MoniQA at OLEUM first annual project meeting held in Thessaloniki, Greece

OLEUM

On 4 - 6 October 2017, OLEUM partners met in Greece for a project meeting to mark the end of the first year of the project and discuss progress and future plans. The meeting was hosted by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Roland Poms is member of the Advisory Panel and attended the meeting on behalf of MoniQA Association. The Multi-stakeholder Advisory Board (MS-AB) of OLEUM met for the first time. The MS-AB will meet annually to act as discussion platform to consult in different aspects of the project.

Workshop "Reference Materials and Method Validation in Food Safety Assurance", BOKU, Vienna, Austria

Roland Poms from MoniQA Association lectured on "Reference Materials and Method Validation in Food Safety Assurance" at BOKU - University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources, Vienna, Austria, http://www.boku.ac.at/en/, on selected days and times between 28 February and 8 March 2017. The lecture especially targeted Master and PhD students in the areas of food safety, food analysis, reference materials and measurements, and quality control. The course was also very useful as part of CPD (continued professional training), for QC personnel in food industry and auditors. Apart from enrolled MSc and PhD students, MoniQA members had access to a maximum of 10 places.

Two new MoniQA workshop videos available: "Method Performance" and "Analytical Uncertainty"

The videos of the MoniQA workshop "Method Performance and Analytical Uncertainty", 19 June 2013, BOKU, Vienna, Austria, held by Richard Cantrill (AOCS) on Method Performance and Hilde Skår Norli (NMKL) on Analytical Uncertainty are now available on the MoniQA website. They can be watched for free for MoniQA members (please log into the MoniQA website) and will be available via paid access for non-members soon.

Watch the videos:

MoniQA Food Allergen RM Task Force met at AOAC 2017, Atlanta, GA, USA

The MoniQA Food Allergen Reference Materials Task Force met on 27 September 2017, 14:00-17:00 at the 131st AOAC Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The task force was attended by some 30 participants and discussed the progress and the next steps in the design and production of validated food allergen reference materials. After the first set of milk reference materials became available at the beginning of 2017 (see also http://shop.moniqa.org/), further materials are in preparation.

Free of charge: 2 Webinars (Multi-Mycotoxin Analysis/Multi-Allergen Detection) offered by MoniQA

Two new webinars are available and provided by MoniQA. The webinats were produced in coperation with CNR-ISPA, Bari, Italy and Thermo Fisher, Prague, Czech Republic, both MoniQA members. Please click on the links below to watch Dr. Veronica Lattanzio, from the Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA-CNR), Italy, speak about quantitative determination and metabolite discovery of mycotoxins using Thermo Scientific™ Orbitrap™ high resolution accurate mass spectrometry and Dr. Linda Monaci, also from the Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA-CNR), Italy, speak about multi-allergen detection and quantitation of milk and egg proteins in white wine using Thermo Scientific™ Orbitrap™ high resolution accurate mass spectrometry.

The webinars are offered free of charge!

Order now! First validated Milk Allergen Reference Materials for Food Analysis

The first validated Reference Materials for Food Allergen Analysis are now available and can be ordered from MoniQA Association by using the online order form and return the completed, signed/stamped form to moniqa [at] moniqa [dot] org.

ICC Services GmbH publishes Scientific & Regulatory Updates

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.

MoniQA would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Successful New Year!

Merry Christmas 2018!

At the end of an eventful and successful year, we would like to thank all our members, friends and collaborators for their support and involvement in 2018. As a global network for food safety monitoring and quality assurance, MoniQA www.moniqa.org - first funded as an EU Network of Excellence and then established as an international association - has been active since 2007. We are happy to see that MoniQA is growing in numbers of involved network partners and collaborators, as well as in strength of impact with a number of new activities and plans for the years to come.

We would like to wish you a blessed Christmas time and a successful start in the New Year! We are looking forward to working with you in 2019!

On behalf of the MoniQA Association

Richard Cantrill (USA), President

Bert Popping (Germany), Vice-President

Roland Poms (Austria), Secretary General

Register now! for the Second MoniQA International Symposium on Food Fraud Prevention and Effective Food Allergen Management, Vienna, Austria, 7-8 June 2018

MoniQA Symposium 2018

 

Check out the final programme at https://moniqa-vienna2018.meetinghand.com/en/491-programme.

Register now! for the Second MoniQA International Symposium on Food Fraud Prevention and Effective Food Allergen Management, Vienna, Austria, 7-8 June 2018! https://moniqa-vienna2018.meetinghand.com/en/492-registration
Online registration and regular registration fees end 31 May 2018.

Reserve your table top exhibition space! Only a limited number of spaces are available, spaces are granted on a first-come-first-served basis, sponsors will get preferred reservations https://moniqa-vienna2018.meetinghand.com/en/492-registration

Become a Sponsor! and support the symposium, enhance your visibility and brand awareness https://moniqa-vienna2018.meetinghand.com/en/501-sponsoring

ISEKI_Food 2018, 3-5 July 2018, Stuttgart, Germany

The ISEKI-Food Association (European Association for Integrating Food Science and Engineering Knowledge Into the Food Chain) and the University of Hohenheim are organising the 5th International ISEKI_Food Conference (ISEKI_Food 2018) to be held in Stuttgart, University of Hohenheim, Germany, 3 - 5 July 2018.

This  5th edition has as its driving topic “The Food System Approach – New Challenges for Education, Research and Industry“. A modern approach to face the societal, climate and nutritional challenges, impairing food security and the global sustainability of the food chain, has to consider all activities related to food production, processing, packaging, distribution, preparation and consumption.

Last Chance to Register! Workshop on Food Allergen Management in Bologna, Italy, 21 February 2018

Hylobates and MoniQA are organising a workshop on Innovative Food Allergen Management and Risk Assessment, on 21 February 2018 (Bologna, Via Fanin 44). Please refer to the programme and the registration form at http://www.moniqa.org/workshop-bologna-2018. This one day workshop will offer interactive training and discussions for the advanced food allergen manager, lab technician, risk manager and food technologist, as well as provide important information to food producers, regulatory bodies, and consumer organizations: 

Free Workshop: Introduction to food allergen management (in Italian), Rome, Italy, 7 February 2017

Within the framework of the EU-funded Project iFAAM (Integrated Approaches to Food Allergen and Allergy Risk Management), we would like to invite you to a workshop on "Introduction to food allergen management" on 7 February 2017 in Rome.

The workshop provides an introduction on food allergen management for SME food businesses and will cover the following topics:

  • Food allergens of importance, prevalence and basis of food allergies and coeliac disease
  • iFAAM - FP7 EU-funded project activities
  • Food allergen management across the supply chain
  • Role of testing in food allergen management and an introduction to different types of testing
  • Practical hands-on sessions using common rapid methods in allergen testing for monitoring cleaning

Short user-friendly lectures, demonstrations, and interactive Q&A sessions will give attendees a basic knowledge and understanding of food allergen management.
The workshop will be mainly held in Italian. Please note that the number of participants is limited and registration will be on a first-come, first served basis. The registration is free of charge and will be confirmed after receipt of the registration form included in the workshop leaflet.

For more information on the workshop or your registration, please contact Francesca Bucchini (francescabucchini [at] hylobates [dot] it)

Report 27 September 2016: Kick-off event for MoniQA Association’s new offices in Neutal, Austria

Dr. Walter Mayrhofer, Erich Trummer – Mayor of Neutal, Verena Dunst and Dr. Roland Poms.

Dr. Walter Mayrhofer from the FTI Burgenland (Research-Technology-Innovation Agency) (http://www.fti-burgenland.at/de/) opened the kick-off event on behalf of MoniQA’s new offices in Neutal, Austria (some 50 minutes’ drive South of Vienna Airport) with an appreciation of MoniQA’s initiatives in supporting the food industry and authorities to guarantee a high degree of food safety and quality, and by bringing new international expertise to Burgenland.
Representing the regional government of Burgenland, the most Eastern state of Austria, Mrs. Verena Dunst, officially welcomed MoniQA Association and emphasized the importance of international networks for Burgenland’s regional research and innovation activities, and a sustainable economic growth of Burgenland’s strong agricultural and food production sectors.
Dr. Roland Poms, Secretary General of MoniQA Association described the tools and vast information source that MoniQA offers and gave a glimpse into future research projects that MoniQA has submitted (together with various international consortia) within the frame of the European Commission’s Horizon2020 Programme.
Several members of MoniQA presented their institution joint activities at the event: Prof. Wolfgang Kneifel from BOKU – the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna https://www.boku.ac.at/en/ explained the joint international educational and training programmes; BSc. Christoph Reiterich from R-Biopharm http://www.r-biopharm.com/ (a biotech company in food diagnostics, Germany) reported on the joint initiative to produce new reference materials for food allergen analysis and the validation of test kits. Finally, Dr. Rita Litauszky from FFG – the Austrian Research Promotion Agency https://www.ffg.at/en appreciated MoniQA’s track of successful research proposals funded by the European Commission.

A short television spot (ORF) and a Press Release of this event (both in German) can be accessed on MoniQA’s homepage www.moniqa.org.

Kick-off event for MoniQA Association’s new location


Since January 2015, MoniQA (International Association for Monitoring and Quality Assurance in the Total Food Supply Chain) maintains its offices in the Technologiezentrum Neutal, Austria (some 50 minutes drive south from Vienna Airport). The FTI Burgenland (Research-Technology-Innovation Agency) is inviting to a kick-off event held for the MoniQA Association. At the event you have the opportunity to learn more about MoniQA’s global network of experts from the fields of science, research, industry and regulatory bodies. The primary goal of the organisation is the facilitation of close collaborations and the resourcing of “tools” for granting food and nutrition safety. There are also offers for consulting services and education opportunities as well as organising conventions and workshops.

The FTI Burgenland is a member in MoniQA Association and represents on behalf of all food industry companies in the Burgenland area. At the event you will be able to hear more about MoniQA, its available services and you can learn first-hand through a personal talk how you could utilise the association’s offerings for your company and products. Take this opportunity to meet and learn more also about other food industry companies in Burgenland.

Participation is free of charge but we would kindly ask you to confirm your attendance at office [at] fti-burgenland [dot] at by 23rd September 2016.

First testing trial for MoniQA’s Milk Allergen Quality Control Testing Material nearly completed

MoniQA’s first food allergen QC materials, MoniQA SMP (skim milk powder, MQA 092014) and MoniQA BLANK (gluten-free cookie, MQA 082015) have recently undergone a first testing trial with some 40 laboratories involved worldwide. Most of the anticipated results have been collected and are currently evaluated. In a next step the completed materials of dried skim milk incurred in gluten-free cookies at various concentrations shall become available in summer 2016.

The materials are a result of an initiative that met in 2013 in Washington, MO, USA, which progressed into a MoniQA Task Force on the development of reference materials for food allergen and gluten-free analysis.

MoniQA invites to the 4th International ISEKI_Food 2016 Conference in Vienna

MoniQA is official supporter of the 4th International ISEKI_Food Conference to be held in Vienna, Austria, 6 - 8 July 2016 organised by the ISEKI-Food Association (European Association for Integrating Food Science and Engineering Knowledge Into the Food Chain).

From more than 500 submitted abstracts 88 oral and 255 poster presentations will be delivered.

Poster Awards will begranted, Pre-conference activities (Food Waste Recovery Workshop, a PhD workshop, a free presentation of the FooD-STA centre AUSTRIA and a free training workshop on entrepreneurship) enrich the 4th International ISEKI_Food Conference in Vienna this year!

More than 300 people from all continents have already registered.
We look forward to welcoming you in Vienna in July 2016!

For more details please visit: http://www.isekiconferences.com/vienna2016/

Report: Workshop on Application of Food Allergen Management Tools, Geel, Belgium

In its aim to develop evidence-based approaches and tools for the management of allergens in food and to integrate knowledge derived from their application into food allergy management plans and dietary advice, the iFAAM project works develops a clinically validated tiered risk assessment approach for food allergens. The resulting holistic strategies will reduce the burden of food allergies in Europe and beyond, whilst enabling the European food industry to compete in the global market place. The iFAAM approach is building on e-Health concepts to allow full exploitation of complex data obtained from the work in this project, maximising sharing and linkage of data.

A second stakeholder consultation was held at the European Commission Joint Research Centre – Institute for Reference Materials and Methods, EC JRC-IRMM (Geel, BE) on 25-26 April 2016. The main objective of this stakeholder workshop was to seek critical feedback on iFAAM risk analysis tools and approaches proposed for managing the risks posed by the presence of unintended allergens in foods. This was achieved by a combination of presentations in plenary, panel discussions and break-out sessions:

MoniQA invites to the 1st Food Chemistry Conference in Amsterdam

MoniQA endorses and contributes to the First Food Chemistry Conference - Shaping the Future of Food Quality, Health and Safety to be held 30 October - 1 November 2016 in the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

This exciting new conference celebrating the 40th anniversary of the leading international journal Food Chemistry will bring together experts and young researchers from academia, research centres, and industry to debate on the latest scientific advances in the field of food chemistry that help to shape current and future challenges in food quality, food safety, and health aspects of the food chain. These challenges are also intimately linked to the wider EU Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges related to health, food security, sustainable agriculture, maritime research and the bioeconomy.

MoniQA’s involvement in submissions of EU project proposals 2016

Also in 2016 MoniQA facilitates participation in collaborative research projects. In some selected calls MoniQA Association is involved as partner, workpackage leader or task leader. Please note that MoniQA may be able to involve its members as Third Party in various calls only if (according to EC rules) a valid membership pre-exists prior to the final submission of the proposal or the start of the project. If you are interested to get involved in MoniQA and/or any of the calls for research proposals below, please contact moniqa [at] moniqa [dot] org.

1)      The impact of consumer practices in food safety: risks and mitigation strategies

2)      Understanding food value chain and network dynamics

3)      Integrating Activities for Starting Communities

4)      Increase overall transparency of processed agri-food products

5)      Alternative production system to address anti-microbial drug usage, animal welfare and the impact on health

More details on the calls can be found on the official website of Horizon2020 of the European Commission https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/. MoniQA members may also access the call descriptions to the above titles here. (login required)

Symposium on Food Allergens: Regulation, management and detection, 18 October 2018, Brussels, Belgium

International Symposium

Food Allergens: regulation, management and detection

2nd edition

October 18, 2018 ● Finance Tower, Pacheco room, Brussels

Registration (before 10 October 2018): www.cergroupe.be
Participation fee (lunch included): EUR 100,00 VAT excl. – EUR 121,00 VAT incl.

Pacheco Center (entrance: Finance Tower)
Boulevard Pachéco, 13
B-1000 Brussels

For people with food allergies, please get in touch with us
For any further information please contact us at infolnr [at] cergroupe [dot] be or +32 (0) 84 658 090

Download the programme!

32nd EFFoST International Conference, Nantes, France, 6-8 November 2018

Every year EFFoST  organizes this prestigious international food science and technology conference, an important scientific event that brings together world-renowned researchers, scientists, policy makers, professionals and students from multidisciplinary food-related fields to share the latest developments, meet old friends and form new partnerships. See here for details of our previous conferences.

The 32nd EFFoST International Conference will be held in Nantes, France from 6-8 November 2018 under the theme: Developing innovative food structures and functionalities through process and reformulation to satisfy consumer needs and expectations.

Next MoniQA Food Allergen RM Task Force Meeting

The next MoniQA Food Allergen Reference Materials Task Force Meeting is scheduled for

27 September 2017, 14:00-17:00 at the 131st AOAC Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Room: International 3, which is located on the International Level of the hotel

The task force will meet on the last day of the conference at 2pm – 5pm. Please find below the preliminary agenda.

Read more

RICHFIELDS Stakeholder Platform Meeting, 2nd June 2016, Penta Hotel (Brussels, BE)

The aim of the meeting is to introduce RICHFIELDS to the stakeholder community, and identify the stakeholder’s needs on the scientific case and business case. Speakers will present the background and aims of RICHFIELDS and lead interactive breakout sessions to explore your needs and ideas to understand and better use consumer-generated data. The programme and more information about RICHFIELDS are attached for interest. Delegates can register at http://bit.ly/24x4L7Y

If delegates are unable to complete their travel on the same day as the meeting, RICHFIELDS will provide one night’s accommodation at the Penta or another suitable local hotel.

Deadline for abstracts approaching (30-04-2016): Postgraduate Symposium on Food Fraud 2016 on 23-24 June 2016, Wageningen, the Netherlands

We take great pleasure in inviting post-graduate students (PhD/MSc) to participate in the 1st Postgraduate Symposium on Food Fraud hosted by Wageningen University and Research Centre in Wageningen, the Netherlands, on June 23-24, 2016. Postgraduates from around the world working on food fraud are welcome to participate, as are those who have completed a doctorate but not yet taken up a post. This exciting event will be an excellent occasion to meet your peers and develop your network as a junior researcher in the area of food authenticity, fraud, and integrity. The conference is free of charge and provides a varied programme for professional development as well as for networking (provisional programme attached). It is open to all postgraduate students across the full spectrum of food quality management, analytical chemistry, physics, criminology, marketing, consumer sciences, and economic sciences.

Meet MoniQA at the 4th International ISEKI-Food Conference in Vienna, 6-8 July 2016

This year the ISEKI-Food Association (IFA) organises the 4th International ISEKI-Food Conference in Vienna, 6-8 July 2016 at the University of Natural Life Sciences (BOKU)  (http://www.isekiconferences.com/vienna2016/), where we expect again 200-300 participants.

 Abstracts are welcome to following topics:

·       Education and Training in the Food sector: trends and developments
·       Food Technology: process innovation, novel food functionalities and virtualization in food engineering
·       Food Quality and Safety: new developments
·       Food by-products: reduction and utilisation
·       Nutrition: trends and impact of food technology
·       Responsible Research and Innovation: challenges and practices in the food supply chain

For the best contributions several sponsored awards will be available.

A special session “Technologists meet Nutritionists” will be focusing on “Healthgrain”.

Furthermore there will be several pre-conference workshops:

ICC International conference – Grains for Wellbeing, 5-8 Nov 2018 in Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

We are pleased to announce that the registration and abstract submission is open for ICC International conference – Grains for Wellbeing, 5-8 Nov 2018 in Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Nov. 5th Registration and Reception Party
Nov. 6th and 7th 2-day Symposium
Nov. 7th Technical Tour

Grain is important in our diet, not only for providing energy and the feeling of joy from grain desserts, but also for improving health.

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