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 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 will provide them with the transferable skills necessary for thriving careers in a burgeoning area that underpins innovative technological development across a range of diverse disciplines.
PROTECT brings together intersectoral and multidisciplinary expertise from 11 European Countries (7 third level educational institutions, 6 industry partners, 1 United Nations agency). The consortium will share technical and training expertise to recruit and train 8 highly skilled ESRs in advanced modelling tools to investigate 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 will use this new knowledge to create a science based decision support tool and develop policy guidance through a white paper. The consortium will support 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.
Partners
- Beneficiaries: University College Dublin (Coordinator) (Prof. Enda Cummins), University of Malta (Prof. Vasilis Valdramidis) KU Leuven (Prof. Jan Van Impe) ONIRIS (Dr. Jeanne-Marie Membré) Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Prof. Kostas Koutsoumanis) University of Nottingham (Prof. Serafim Bakalis) Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Prof. Almudena Hospido) CREME (Mr. Cronan McNamara)
- Organisations: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Danone, Feiraco, NIZO Food Research, Nestlé, ARLA Foods
Website and Social Media
Website: http://www.protect-itn.eu/
Twitter: @PROTECT-ITN
Facebook: PROTECT-ITN-MARIE-CURIE