Project description
Safeguarding food safety in a changing climate
The security and safety of the global food supply is a top concern. While recent events, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the energy crisis, highlighted the need for robust measures, the agricultural and food industries face another challenge. They are significantly vulnerable to contamination by biotoxins produced by plants, algae, and fungi. The unpredictable nature of these toxic metabolites is exacerbated by global warming and extreme weather events. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the BIOTOXDoc project will launch a doctoral training programme to equip future experts to tackle biotoxin control, mitigation, and risk assessment. The training will encompass the development of early warning systems, on-site testing, detoxification strategies, and toxicity assessments of co-occurring biotoxins.
Objective
There is a massive and urgent need to ensure security and safety of the food supply of the growing world population. The ongoing war in Ukraine as well as the energy crisis emphasized this even further. However, agriculture and food industries continue to be vulnerable to problems of contamination with biotoxins produced by plants, algae and particularly by fungi. Global warming and extreme weather events make the occurrence of these toxic metabolites even less predictable. Alarmingly, the EU currently faces a lack of food safety specialists, as recognised by the European Commission. These challenges lay the foundation for BIOTOXDoc – Safe food in a world of changing climate: The doctoral training programme to develop novel control, mitigation and risk assessment methods for biotoxins. The objective of BIOTOXDoc is to train doctoral students (PhDs) in a broad range of skills and complementary competencies - necessary to innovate various scientific fields and approaches, so urgently needed to control and mitigate biotoxins - by taking advantage of a multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral team of world-class experts. The training and research will include development of early warning systems and on‑site testing by portable mass spectrometry. PhDs will develop novel detoxification strategies of biotoxins and will assess the combined toxicity of co‑occurring biotoxins. Moreover, PhDs will develop much-needed rapid as well as confirmatory tests for biotoxins and aim to close major gaps in our current knowledge of biotoxins. The major common link between all PhDs, working on a wide range of biotoxins at different points along the food and feed chain, is the influence of climate change on biotoxin occurrence and the resulting demand of revised strategies to mitigate its impact on the European population.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologyphycology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologymycology
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesfood technologyfood safety
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural scienceschemical sciencesanalytical chemistrymass spectrometry
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN - HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral NetworksCoordinator
1180 Wien
Austria
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Participants (7)
166 28 Praha
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6708 PB Wageningen
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75007 Paris
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4450 208 Matosinhos
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20123 Milano
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15782 Santiago De Compostela
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3131 Getzersdorf Bei Traismauer
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Partners (11)
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
43122 Parma
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27003 GALICIA
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
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3047 BP Rotterdam
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
08940 CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
31023 Resana
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36310 Vigo Pontevedra
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
6708 PB Wageningen
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BT7 1NN Belfast
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3430 Tulln
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31062 Toulouse Cedex 9
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
4099-002 Porto
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