1 Food safety and quality research at the JRC Arjon van Hengel European Commission, DG JRC (Joint Research Centre), Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements Ljubljana (SL), January 2007

2 European Commission Joint Research Centre

3 Mission of the JRC …. to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies…. ….it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national.“ … the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union….

4 The JRC Food Cluster  Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) Certified reference materials Safety and quality of food and feed  Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP) Genetically modified organisms (method validation) Food contact materials, European wine data bank  Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) Prospective studies

5 Food safety and quality in the EU Member States and the EU have put a scientific safety and quality assessment mechanism in place Complementary: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) looks into toxicity issues and safety, particularly in cases of authorisation DG JRC focuses on detection methodologies DG SANCO develops and implements food legislation DG RTD funds related research projects (through FP7,...) This mechanism is proving to be effective in tackling and avoiding potential risks to food safety and quality Aim is to safeguard the entire food supply chain ("from-farm- to-fork" concept), including traceability

6  Scientific and technical support to Directorates General when developing food and feed legislation to the European Food Safety Authority to national official control laboratories for implementation of legislation  Pro-active research in areas where legislation is expected  Input for standardisation and harmonisation bodies (e.g. European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), Codex Alimentarius, AOAC International) Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

7 Allergens Sustainable agriculture and organic foods Natural toxins - mycotoxins Semicarbazide (SEM) Food contaminants Sweeteners Chocolate Functional foods and antioxidants GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) PAHs and smoke flavourings Acrylamide Feed additives marker for Animal By-Products Meat-and-Bone meal (MBM) Food contact materials Trace elements (heavy metals) Veterinary drugs in feeds Wine authentification Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

8 Challenges for Food Safety & Quality Food and feed matrices are extremely complex The number of compounds to be measured in food and feed is extremely high The number of products to be controlled is extremely high

9 Complementary approaches: Method development, validation and harmonisation (e.g. mycotoxins, food allergens) Proficiency testing (e.g. acrylamide, PAHs) Food data bases (e.g. authenticity of wines, monitoring of acrylamide) Reference materials (e.g. GMOs, contaminants) => Measured once, accepted everywhere  Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

10 JRC work assures that the same reference materials and quality assessment methodologies are being used across Europe, control methods and tools used to ensure good analytical procedures are harmonised. Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

11 Food safety and quality at the DG JRC Examples of current research topics within the JRC Allergens Acrylamide GMOs Mycotoxins

12 Food safety and quality at the DG JRC Food allergens Food allergy is an increasing health problem. Currently around 6-8 % of children and 2 % of adults are affected There is no cure for food allergy Allergenic individuals can protect themselves by avoiding the allergenic foods Since November 2005 the presence of the 12 most important food allergens has to be declared on the label of food products

13 Food safety and quality at the DG JRC There is a clear need for methods capable of detecting food allergens at the low mg/kg range Validation of such methods is required to improve the reliability of analytical results Cereals (gluten) Egg Milk Soy bean Peanut Tree nuts Fish Crustaceans Mustard Celery Sesame Sulphites Mollusks Lupin Mollusks Lupin

14 Food safety and quality at the DG JRC Acrylamide compound known to be carcinogenic produced when starch-rich food is cooked at high temperatures

15 The JRC is responsible for running the European monitoring database which contains data on the presence of this compound in food, allows exposure assessments to estimate the average daily intake by a consumer of the compound. Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

16 Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Validation of analytical methods for the detection and quantification of GMOs in raw materials and processed food, Member States asked to coordinate a network of national enforcement laboratories on GMO detection (ENGL), GMO-based certified reference materials, essential for the establishment of appropriate protocols for GMO detection, Community's Reference Laboratory on GMOs. Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

17 JRC’s GMO detection and referencing methodologies recently put to the test when rice cargo from the US was held in Rotterdam, detected the presence of LL Rice 601, a strain of unauthorised GMO rice, EU results turned out to be positive while they were tested negative in the US, need for further collaboration between the US and EU to harmonise the testing methodologies and sampling for GMOs –US: 1000 grains x3  0.1% –EU: 8000 grains x4  0.01 % Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

18 Mycotoxins (natural substances produced by fungi/moulds) reference tools (methods, RMs) on development and validation (collaborative trial) of a method for the determination of Zearalenone, (for DG SANCO), Difficulty: limited availability of naturally contaminated material. Determination of : Patulin, T-2/HT-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol (DON). Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

19 JRCs CRLs for Food Community Reference Laboratories (CRL's) foreseen in Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, contribute to a high quality and uniformity of test results throughout the EU, in particular in those areas where a need for precise analytical and diagnostic results exists (regulatory limits e. g. Zearalenone, DON).

20 JRC is appointed as Community Reference Laboratory (CRLs, with NRLs) for: Feed additives authorisation & control, Food contact materials, Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Mycotoxins, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Trace elements, Water in poultry. JRCs CRLs for Food

21 European Office for Wine, Alcohol and Spirit Drinks (BEVABS), to facilitate the implementation of EU wine legislation, databank on authentic European wines to ensure that when we buy a wine of a certain geographic origin, we are not drinking wine produced elsewhere. Food safety and quality at the DG JRC

22 Current JRC activities Activity 1 –organic farming (–omics approach) –GMO (co-existence and traceability) Activity 2 –food allergens (food labelling and consumer behaviour) –mycotoxins (food contaminants) –food packaging (food contaminants) –nanoparticles (food additives) –intense sweeteners (food additives) –food sampling Examples of current research within the JRC with relevance for FP7 theme 2 Examples of current research within the JRC with relevance for FP7 theme 2

23 DG JRC collaboration with Slovenia Slovenian participation : in several inter-laboratory comparisons for chemical measurements, (e.g. acrylamide: Institut za Varstvo Okolja in Maribor; mycotoxins: National Veterinary Institute, Ljubljana) in Training Courses and Workshops (in 2005, 190 experts in 102 events), organised by the JRC JRC organised 3 workshops in Slovenia in 2005

24 DG JRC collaboration with Slovenia Official visit of Commissioner J. Potočnik (of Slovenian nationality) to Ljubljana, 15 December 2006, to open Slovenian-European Natural Sciences Research Centre (SENARC) The JRC is currently hosting 10 Slovenian experts and researchers in its institutes under temporary contracts of typically 1 to 2 years Slovenian research organisations are involved in 19 JRC research networks and 17 FP6 projects in several scientific areas such as environment and food.

25 DG JRC collaboration with Slovenia Slovenian NRLs collaborating with Feed Additives CRL: –Kmetijski inštitut Slovenije, Ljubljana –Univerza v Ljubljani Veterinarska fakulteta Mycotoxin CRL: –Univerza v Ljubljani Veterinarska fakulteta –Nacionalni veterinarski inštitut PAH CRL: –Public Health Institute of Maribor European Network of GMO Laboratories: –National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana –Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana

26 JRC is looking forward to collaborate with Slovenian partners in FP7 projects