The European Commission has published a catalogue of all projects funded under the 'Food quality and safety' strand of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

A total of 181 projects obtained funding between 2002 and 2006, receiving €751 million between them. The 'Food quality and safety' priority covered many of the research topics addressed by FP5's 'Quality of life' programme. But it also encompassed new scientific areas: total food chain; epidemiology of food-related diseases and allergies; impact of food on health; traceability processes along the production chain; methods of analysis, detection and control; safer and more environmentally friendly production methods and technologies; the impact of animal feed on health; and environmental health risks.

At the time when the Commission was starting to plan FP6, Europe's citizens were becoming increasingly interested in new aspects of food and nutrition. They 'started to concern themselves with questions of pesticide in fruits, nutritional content, bovine growth hormones in milk, mad cow disease, allergies and obesity,' writes EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik in his foreword.

'There was only one way to differentiate between the good, the bad and the inedible and to support the new emerging rights of the 'informed choice'; we needed to invest in food safety and quality research across the board, from fork to farm,' the Commissioner continues.

Mr Potocnik believes that the thematic priority was a great success in FP6. 'It effectively supported research to develop an environmentally friendly production and distribution chain able to deliver safer, healthier and more varied food to people,' he writes.

Source: Community R&D Information Service (CORDIS)