Predictive mOdelling Tools to evaluate the Effects of Climate change on food safeTy and spoilage

Project Information

PROTECT

Grant agreement ID: 813329

DOI

10.3030/813329

Project closed

EC signature date 4 July 2018

Start date 1 April 2019

End date 31 March 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 2 115 541,44

EU contribution

€ 2 115 541,44

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN
Ireland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PROTECT (Predictive mOdelling Tools to evaluate the Effects of Climate change on food safeTy and spoilage)

Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Climate change and food safety have become interdependent worldwide research priorities. In order to meet the EU challenge of doubling food production by 2050 (to meet population demands) while dealing with the impact of climate change on food safety, investment in research to address this important societal issue is required. The overarching aim of this Innovative Training Network (ITN) is to provide high-level training in Predictive mOdelling Tools to evaluate the Effects of Climate change on food safeTy (PROTECT) to a new generation of high achieving early stage researchers. PROTECT provided ESRs with the transferable skills necessary for thriving careers in a burgeoning area that underpins innovative technological development across a range of diverse disciplines. This goal was achieved by a unique combination of “hands-on” research training, non-academic placements, summer schools and workshops on research-related and transferable skills facilitated by the academic and non-academic composition of the consortium. PROTECT brought together intersectoral and multidisciplinary expertise from 11 European Countries (7 third level educational institutions, 6 industry partners, 1 United Nations agency). On conclusion of the action, the consortium shared technical and training expertise to recruit and train 8 highly skilled ESRs in advanced modelling tools to investigate the societal challenge of the impact of climate change on food safety, considering food as unsafe if it is injurious to health (due to pathogenic bacteria or mycotoxins) or unfit for human consumption (due to spoilage bacteria). Moreover, PROTECT used this new knowledge to create science based decision support modelling tools and developed policy guidance through a white paper document. The consortium supports specialist job creation in an area central to human and environmental health while ensuring continued growth and public confidence in Europe’s agri-food sector.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

PROTECT is an Innovative Training Network (ITN) funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2018, Grant No. 813329). The overarching aim of this Innovative Training Network (ITN) is to provide high-level training in Predictive mOdelling Tools to evaluate the Effects of Climate change on food safeTy (PROTECT) to a new generation of high achieving Early Stage Researchers (ESRs). PROTECT provided ESRs with the transferable skills necessary for thriving careers in a burgeoning area that underpins innovative technological development across a range of diverse disciplines. PROTECT commenced its 42-month training network on 1st April 2019 with a 6-month recruitment drive. All ESRs were in place by the 1st January 2020 and commenced work on their respective tasks. A website (www.protect-itn.eu) was created in order to contribute to the exploitation and dissemination of the PROTECT ITN objectives, aims and results. In addition, other social media and dissemination routes were exploited (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook). A launch and opening event took place in UCD (23rd-24th May, 2019) with a video address by EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan. Management structures, including a Supervisory Board (with representatives from all partner institutions) were also setup during this meeting. A number of training workshops (2 workshops) and summer school (2 summer schools), were organised throughout the action, with leading roles and significant input from industry partners. The outputs of the Training Network were disseminated beyond national borders through social media and academic networks. ESRs also presented their work at several outreach events, including school visits. Of particular note was the development of the PROTECT comic book, aimed at primary school children (ages 6 years upwards) to illustrate the main concepts and outcomes from the PROTECT Training Network in an uncomplicated and fun way. The comic book is free for download at: https://researchrepository.ucd.ie/handle/10197/13121 . The Training Network’s final PROTECT conference (UCD Dublin, November 2022) was organized with support from academic and industry partners. The conference was open to researchers, regulatory agencies, and industry professionals, serving as an effective platform to disseminate the Training Networks results to a wider audience. The action resulted in the development of risk assessment tools, decision support tools and a while paper document, which emphasised the need for advanced predictive modelling approaches that combine food safety and microbial data with climate change data to investigate the impact of climate change on food safety.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Contemporary prediction of future climate and food safety issues requires intensive laboratory and field trials, monitoring and steps that inhibit integration to a streamlined assessment system. The work proposed in this Training Network focused on the use of state of the art predictive modelling, Bayesian techniques, Expert elicitation, Multi Criteria Decision Analysis, 2nd order Monte Carlo analysis, sensitivity and scenario analysis techniques which, to date, have not been fully exploited in the EU. While there has only been limited work on climate change’s influences on food safety in Europe (due to high technological and methodological complexity), the full power of techniques have yet to be realised and integration of food safety with climate change represents an innovative step on a wider scale and which goes beyond state of the art. PROTECT extrapolated modelling and analytical approaches to real life scenarios in conjunction with internationally known key industrial partners with a real desire to address this emerging issue. The PROTECT programme succeeded in providing high-quality inter-professional training to enhance the career perspectives and employability of the ESRs. The Training Network allowed the ESRs to broaden their scientific and technical competencies. Through the practical training programme’s workshops and summer schools the ESRs have expanded and developed their scientific and professional competencies and have greatly improved their knowledge of environmental impact, food safety, risk food chain management. The full engagement of renowned industry partners showcased the strong demand for the expertise developed by the ESRs. The action resulted in the publication of several research outputs in high-quality, peer-reviewed international journals, with presentations at several international and national conferences. The Training Network’s final PROTECT conference (Dublin, Ireland November 2022),was organized with support from academic and industry partners, serving as an effective platform to disseminate the Training Network's results (including risk assessment studies, modelling tools and Decision support tools) to a wider audience.

PROTECT Team

Attendees at PROTECT Symposium (UCD Dublin, Ireland)

PROTECT Schematic