Harmonising food safety controls
To secure a high level of health protection for Europeans, the criteria for food safety must be based on analysing the risks involved. Therefore, the data collection for risk assessment should be done using common methodology and criteria across Europe to enable comparisons to be made. With this requirement in mind, the 'Selection and improving of fit-for-purpose sampling procedures for specific foods and risk' (BASELINE) project, funded by the EU, was established. Its aim was to ensure that comparable data could be collected to improve the quantitative risk analysis of selected biological and chemical agents. Different analytical methods have been developed to be applied as an alternative to current standard methods. These new methods are generally faster and their implementation should represent a huge advantage in terms of the time needed to detect a food risk. Widespread application of the sampling schemes developed will increase the likelihood that any microbiological and toxic hazard in food products will be detected before their distribution to (and consumption by) consumers. This operation should substantially reduce the risk of food-borne diseases for European consumers. The last BASELINE project period will focus on editing the sampling schemes for the chosen food-risk combinations, which will then be used as the basis for training manuals. These documents will play an important role in the sharing and dissemination of scientific knowledge produced by the project to all relevant stakeholders.
