CORDIS Express: safe and secure supply of food
Where does our food come from? How it is treated along the journey to our table? How does it affect us once we've eaten it? From the health impacts of obesity to hidden ingredients in our daily meals, questions about food concern us all. Food safety, animal welfare, plant health, labelling and traceability: all come under the spotlight through EU funded FP7 research. Food safety has come to the fore as an issue over the last few years as scares have shown that we can't necessarily trust ingredient labels. In order to be more confident about what we are buying, testing procedures need to be robust. So we continue to research ever more efficient testing techniques. But unwanted ingredients may not have been put into our meals deliberately. There are also risks from pathogens and pollution. These know no borders, so we coordinate our research efforts with new EU countries, neighbouring countries and those from which we import, all apply the same standards and rules. We need to know what we are buying is good for us, but what about how we choose to eat? In Europe today, 4 of the 7 biggest risk factors for premature death - blood pressure, cholesterol, Body Mass Index, and inadequate fruit and vegetable intake - relate to how we eat. Rising numbers of those overweight or obese, along with the related health issues, is a real challenge to our health systems. A range of research projects is looking into alleviating diabetes and finding ways to bring down levels of obesity. With work also being done on animal welfare and plant health, research into securing Europe's food supply, and the health of those consuming it, is turning up interesting results. Read on to discover what projects are being supported and how they are helping us from farmyard to plate. - Food intake may affect anger in relationships(opens in new window) - Mapping information sources for European farmers(opens in new window) - EU research offers 'promise' of improved food safety(opens in new window) - How plants evolved and what it means for our food supply(opens in new window) - Novel solutions ensure food safety(opens in new window) - Health benefits of traditional foods(opens in new window) - Nanotechnology in food preservation(opens in new window) - Pioneering EU project on track to assess level of contaminants in seafood(opens in new window)