Project description
A closer look at contaminants in plant-based diets
The growing popularity of plant-based diets has sparked a significant shift in consumer food choices. While this dietary change holds promise for personal health and the environment, it has raised concerns about potential exposure to contaminants. Particularly worrisome are natural contaminants like mycotoxins, which may pose health risks. With the support of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the PRISMA project emerges as a groundbreaking initiative. This proof of concept research aims to assess the contribution of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) to mycotoxin exposure. By improving the regulatory framework, PRISMA seeks to support policymakers and ensure the safety of meat substitutes. The research findings will be disseminated broadly through public engagement activities.
Objective
The ongoing shift towards plant-based diets and the higher intake of plant-based food might have caused a substantial change in the exposure of consumers to contaminants. Taking into consideration the climate change scenario, this could be particularly relevant for natural contaminants such as mycotoxins. The increased intake of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) might have altered the current dietary exposure used in risk assessments which stay at the basis of current regulatory frameworks.
This project is designed as a proof of concept to assess the real PBMA contribution to the overall mycotoxin exposure in alternative diets, with the ultimate ambition to provide support to regulators and policymakers in improving the regulatory framework of meat substitutes.
This MSCA will consist of spending 24 months at Parma University, under the supervision of Prof. Dall'Asta who is among the most renowned scientists in the field of natural toxins and has a well-known expertise in advanced mass spectrometry. During the fellowship, the candidate will undergo training for 4 months in human biomonitoring at ONIRIS-LABERCA.
Consumer surveys, the development of new analytical methods for mycotoxins detection in PBMA, consumers' exposure to mycotoxins, and risk-benefit assessments will be carried out. Additional workshops, lectures, and a short visit will provide excellent training for the researcher in the field of food chemistry and risk assessment.
To maximise the impact of the research outcomes, the candidate is planning to organize public engagement activities and publish papers in highly-ranked peer-reviewed journals which will benefit the lay public, the scientific community, and policymakers.
This proposal will be a tremendous opportunity for Dr. Mihalache's career and will contribute to his long-term career perspective of following a tenure-track position in academia or an EU public institution.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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43121 PARMA
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.