(Vienna, 14 June 2010) The 2^nd International MoniQA Conference in Krakow on June 8-10 2010 formed a multidisciplinary bridge between the daily concerns of citizens, economic considerations and food and nutrition science. In nine technical sessions the conference set out the state of the art concerning food safety standards, mycotoxins & phycotoxins, food allergens, chemical contaminants, microbiological contaminants, food additives, emerging technologies for food safety assessment and food authenticity.

The interdisciplinary nature of the conference was highlighted in the opening session, which featured presentations on EU legislation for food safety and socio-economic considerations (Frans Verstraete, DG Sanco, European Commission), safety considerations of engineered nanoparticles in food (Karen Tiede, FERA), the implications of risk perception for managing and communicating food risks to the public (Gene Rowe, IFR) and MoniQA, the global Network of Excellence contributing to reliable food safety analysis and better regulations (Roland Poms, ICC).

Other sessions included cross-disciplinary aspects as well, such as the impact of food safety standards on international trade and developing countries (Session 2), the impact of the Irish dioxin crisis (Session 5) as well as the question whether food contamination can and has been used as a terrorist weapon (Session 6), to name but a few. The presentations are available for download at the conference website http://krakow.moniqa.org.

The 3^rd International MoniQA Conference is scheduled for 27-29 September 2011, in Varna, Bulgaria.

• Download the full version of the Press Release

(Vienna, Shanghai, 28 May 2010) Dr. Roland E. Poms, ICC Secretary General and Coordinator of the MoniQA Network of Excellence, was invited to present MoniQA results and achievements at the World Exposition in Shanghai, China. MoniQA is among five EU funded projects that were invited by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health & Consumers (DG SANCO) to highlight its mission in a seminar on "Research for Healthy Life" to take place 6 June 2010 in Shanghai, China.

The "Research For Healthy Life" seminar included contributions by several high-level speakers, such as Bernard Van Goethem (acting Deputy Director General of DG SANCO), Antonio Di Giulio (Head of Unit "Food - Health - Well-being" - Directorate General for Research), Riitta Maijala (Director Risk Assessment, EFSA - European Food Safety Agency, Elke Anklam (European Commission's Joint Research Centre - JRC), Huailin Li (President of the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine), Yu Tawai (Director General Food Safety - Office Import/Export - AQSIQ) and others.

Only 5 EU funded projects were invited to present their results in the frame of this seminar: MoniQA (Monitoring and Qualtiy Assurance in the total food supply chain), PATHOGENCOMBAT (Fighting new pathogens in the food chain), VEG-i-Trade (Impact of climate change and globalisation on safety of fresh produce), FACET (Exposure assessment to food additives, flavourings and FCM) and Q-PORK (Animal welfare/zootechnics/food quality/consumer expectation).

• Download the full version of the Press Release

How to exploit the health-protective compounds of grains? What kind of role do cereal foods play in combating obesity or diabetes? Can whole grain products be tasty and attractive? Do consumers' attitudes differ in different countries? What attributes make cereal foods healthy?

These questions among others were set to the HEALTHGRAIN project of the European Union five years ago and the answers were presented at the Final HEALTHGRAIN Conference, 5-7 May 2010, in Lund, Sweden. Increase in intake of health-protective compounds and fractions of grains was the target of hundreds of scientists, plant breeders, millers, ingredient suppliers and experts in food industry in 17 European countries during the HEALTHGRAIN project. The final conference was entitled "Enhancing health benefits of cereal foods - results, perspectives and challenges", the meeting was attended by some 265 participants from around the globe. With the completion of the EU funded Integrated Project (2005-2010) on 31 May 2010, the HEALTHGRAIN Forum has been legally established as a non-for-profit association based on corporate memberships. The HEALTHGRAIN Forum will be the future platform to support the work for healthy cereals in the European diet. The aim is to continue the HEALTHGRAIN network to disseminate the many results arising from the work already done, and further to stimulate new research, facilitate international cooperation and bring together national research activities. The mission of the forum is to promote science-based concepts fully unlocking the health promoting potential in the entire grain food production chain to obtain healthy, convenient and appealing foods. The vision of the Forum is that grain-based foods assist consumers in health maintenance worldwide, help reduce health care costs and provide added value for companies in the production chain.

View the HEALTHGRAIN Press Releases

South Africa is proud to celebrate its diversity by describing itself as the "rainbow nation". The International Grains Symposium organised by Cereal Science and Technology South Africa (CST-SA) and the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) certainly celebrated the diversity with around 150 scientists and technologists (a number which exceeded the organisers expectations) from 17 countries gathering to discuss Quality and Safety of Grain Crops and Foods at the International Grains Symposium in the University of Pretoria on 3-5 February 2010.

This wide ranging symposium programme highlighted the diversity and complexity of grain-based foods. The scientific sessions were well attended with a capacity audience present from start to finish. In addition to the scientific sessions there were a large number of posters to read and a technical exhibition to visit. Before the gala dinner guest were entertained by the University of Pretoria (UP) Chorale who were formed some 12 years ago. The members of the Chorale all come from the University and they performed a variety of songs and dances that are indigenous to South Africa. At the end of the symposium it was very clear the entertainment had ensured that South Africa lived up to its reputation as the "rainbow nation" and all concerned with the organisation of the event had demonstrated a degree of professionalism at least the equal to other events in the cereals world. To read more about the content of the sessions, please refer to the ICC/MoniQA Journal QAS - Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods, Volume 2, Issue 2 or online at www.icc.or.at/journal/qas.

Organised by the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC), Austria, the Beijing Food Research Institute (BFRI) and the FOOD SCIENCE Editorial Department (FSED), this event will be the Peak Forum of Key Basic Research of Food Science and the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Chinese FOOD SCIENCE Journal taking place in Beijing, China, 5-11 August 2010.

The symposium will explore key research topics of food science as well as food biotechnology and food safety so as to provide the opportunity to communicate advanced expertise and lay out the latest research accomplishments. More than 500 scientists, entrepreneurs, technicians and engineers from all over the world, dedicated to the research of agricultural products and food safety will attend the 6th Food Science International Symposium.

Read more

The Centre of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering at the University of Debrecen and ICC invite to the 2nd International Scientific Conference on Cereals - their products and processing, Debrecen, Hungary, 7-8 October 2010.

The aim of Conference is to give relevant information about all parts of cereal science, from production to storage and quality assessment, as well as their primary and secondary processing. The organisers would also like to provide an opportunity for discussion on actual questions and new trends of the world of cereals for researchers, growers, industrial and government specialists, and all others who are interested in these topics.

Read more

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: We have the pleasure to invite you to the Second Latino-American ICC Conference. At this occasion the city of Santiago de Chile has been chosen as the scenery for the conference titled: "Nutrition, Biotechnology and Safety: Keys for the Cereal Chain Innovation", taking place 10-13 April 2011 in Santiago, Chile. This conference will increase the research quality and provide state of the art expertise to agricultural scientists, agro industry administrators, and other actors in the cereal sector.

Read more