Going further on food safety
Excellence in food safety and food quality is high on the list of priorities for the EU and an indication of an advanced civilisation. The EU-funded project 'Traditional united Europe food' (Truefood) has studied ways to revolutionise and upgrade safety and quality in food production through research, awareness and training. It focused on a farm-to-fork approach, i.e. one that covers all stages of food production such as harvesting, storage, processing, packaging and sales. The project identified consumer perceptions and expectations regarding food safety. It also worked on introducing innovations that protect food from microbiological and chemical hazards, as well as others that improve nutrition and other properties. Environmental and ethical considerations were also looked at. In addition, the project supported marketing and supply chain development of traditional food products. The outcomes can be used to improve Europe's food-related industries and businesses, as well as consumer protection policies. Truefood developed guidelines on effective technology transfer for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food sector, emphasising traditional food manufacturers. The focus was on SMEs because they face more challenges in adopting technology than larger companies. The project's work is being continued by around 20 techno-scientific mediators (TSMs) and with the support of a strong network of training dissemination units (TDUs) that serve 3,500 SMEs. Intense collaboration among research partners, TSMs and SMEs is leading to ongoing cooperation beyond the Truefood project, particularly with respect to new research and development (R&D) projects. All these efforts can be supported with the project's results, including tools for technology and knowledge transfer, training materials, info sheets and websites such as Truefood.eu and Truefish.eu. The overall results are safer food on the table for European citizens.
