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26/04/2005
University to lead £7m food safety research
A multi-million research project, headed by Queen's University announced today, aims to help ease consumers' minds about the safety of food on their plate.
The BioCop initiative, led by Dr Chris Elliott from the Department of Veterinary Science at Stormont, will screen a variety of foodstuffs for multiple contaminants, including pesticides, toxins and drugs. It is believed this is the largest food safety project of its kind in the world.
Queen's will be joined in the five-year project by 31 partners from 15 European countries, as well as Canada, in an effort to develop new technologies which will help ensure that any hidden dangers in many foods are detected long before being consumed by the public.
According to Dr Elliott, the unique initiative involves the use of highly novel techniques aimed at 'fingerprinting' foodstuffs to discover if they contain any chemical contaminants.
"We'll be looking for both man made and natural contaminants, such as pesticides, endocrine disruptors and natural toxins, which can also affect the quality and safety of food,” Dr Elliott said. ”We will also be focusing on contaminants in their totality, rather than looking for individual contaminants.”
The BioCop initiative has received funding of £6.7 million from the EU under its Integrated Project, of which Northern Ireland will receive £840,000.
The Detectox project has a total budget of £560,000, with over half of it, £284,000, coming to Northern Ireland. Both projects are funded under the EC's FP6 Food Quality and Safety Programme.
(MB/SP)
The BioCop initiative, led by Dr Chris Elliott from the Department of Veterinary Science at Stormont, will screen a variety of foodstuffs for multiple contaminants, including pesticides, toxins and drugs. It is believed this is the largest food safety project of its kind in the world.
Queen's will be joined in the five-year project by 31 partners from 15 European countries, as well as Canada, in an effort to develop new technologies which will help ensure that any hidden dangers in many foods are detected long before being consumed by the public.
According to Dr Elliott, the unique initiative involves the use of highly novel techniques aimed at 'fingerprinting' foodstuffs to discover if they contain any chemical contaminants.
"We'll be looking for both man made and natural contaminants, such as pesticides, endocrine disruptors and natural toxins, which can also affect the quality and safety of food,” Dr Elliott said. ”We will also be focusing on contaminants in their totality, rather than looking for individual contaminants.”
The BioCop initiative has received funding of £6.7 million from the EU under its Integrated Project, of which Northern Ireland will receive £840,000.
The Detectox project has a total budget of £560,000, with over half of it, £284,000, coming to Northern Ireland. Both projects are funded under the EC's FP6 Food Quality and Safety Programme.
(MB/SP)
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