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Food control systems underpin food safety and quality, which are vital components of food security and are both necessary to safeguard international trade in food commodities. Food control systems are under increasing pressure due to various factors, including the disruptive effects of pandemics, food-borne diseases, and conflicts affecting food production, distribution, and supply chains. Climate change is also influencing patterns of food contamination as profound changes in weather patterns affect the conditions necessary for microbes and pests to thrive, and therefore changing climates impact food-illness, wastage, and losses.
Nuclear techniques play an important role in analytical laboratory services as many of the separation, identification, and quantification methods that are employed fundamentally rely on a nuclear related phenomenon. Some examples are isotope analysis to characterise the origin of food, nuclear spin in nuclear magnetic resonance, ionization for mass spectrometry, and mass spectrometric separation based on the mass differences of nuclei. Nuclear techniques are often used in conjunction with complementary, non-nuclear methods to provide powerful solutions to food safety and control problems. This includes the need to address food safety and quality requirements for market access. Being able to detect chemical and microbiological contaminants and to control food-borne disease are necessary for this purpose, as are capabilities to respond quickly to events that disrupt the food supply, using rapid, field-based testing methods.
Food processing techniques also include nuclear related technologies. For example, pre-packaged fresh fruits or vegetables exposed to a controlled dose of ionizing radiation as a phytosanitary measure to prevent the introduction and spread of viable regulated pests through trade in fresh produce, or the application of food irradiation to maintain food quality, prevent foodborne illness, reduce food losses, and extend product shelf-life.
The integration of nuclear techniques into food control systems can be secured by promoting awareness of the possibilities and comparative advantages of the techniques, and by encouraging dialogue and ensuring good communication between the relevant actors, including research centres, academia, regulatory bodies and industry. Nuclear technologies can also contribute in the framework of global initiatives such as ‘One Health’, and have a role in helping address issues such as antimicrobial resistance and mitigation of the effects of climate change on the food supply.
This symposium will provide a forum for information sharing on cutting edge research and developments in the application of nuclear technologies for food safety and control, networking between the public and private sectors and defining future research needs and directions.
The purpose of the event is to bring together experts and stakeholders in food safety and food control systems to consider the protection of the integrity of the food supply chain and measures to improve its resilience to food security challenges such as the impacts of climate change, foodborne diseases, food fraud, antimicrobial resistance. It also includes methods to address external factors that may disrupt food control systems (e.g. caused by pandemics, conflict or other catastrophic events). Contemporary and novel applications of nuclear and complementary techniques will be presented, and future perspectives and opportunities discussed. The event will provide a forum for networking, facilitate a broad understanding of food safety and food control systems, and promote the peaceful use of nuclear technologies.
22 December 2023
25 January 2024
18 March 2024
22 May 2024