Q-Safe is an Erasmus plus project in the agro-food field, involving seven different institutions across Europe, with the lead partner being the University of Malta.

For food to arrive on our table, it passes through a process involving agricultural production, manufacturing, distribution, retail and, finally, consumption by customers. Being one of the largest manufacturing sectors in Europe with an annual turnover of around €913 billion (2007), the agro-food sector also has a direct impact on human health and vitality of the human population.

The latter has become increa­singly important, especially in a time when food-related diseases have reached epidemic levels – the recent salmonella and Escherichia coli outbreaks in Europe in recent years are just two examples. The agro-production also holds a crucial place in the European economy, and is the sector with the highest level of employment in Europe (4.3 million in 2007).

With rising awareness of consumer and product safety and increasing concern about the food products on the market, food safety and quality worldwide faces increased pressures and challenges arising from the globalisation of food trade and intensive production systems.

In this regard, predictive modelling and quantitate risk assessment is playing an ever-increasing role in food quality and safety across the globe. These tools are now becoming crucial in risk management policies and controls with the aim of protecting human health.

Additionally, these assessments have shown that food production has significant environmental impacts both in terms of carbon emissions and food waste. Most of these can be avoided through Life Cycle Assess­ment (LCA) and related tools.

Q-Safe is a strategic partnership that has the primary aim to train early stage researchers in the area of pre­dic­tive modelling, risk assessment and LCA through inter-institutional cooperation. It also enhances innovative problem-based learning initiatives. The simulation tools to be used in this partnership can be applied to various aspects in food and bio industries, from food technologies to food management and food processing.

LCA is especially relevant as environmental awareness and con­cern is becoming more im­portant to the European con­sumer. Q-Safe therefore serves as the ideal platform for both tea­ching and industrial staff to co­operate together in this area of research, and through co­operation in teaching activities it could provide a more rounded student experience, therefore increasing the employability of youths in the sector.

This partnership would also be an excellent opportunity for youths to build scientific networks and ex­perience increased colla­boration, and stimulate advanced research in European academia and industry.

The seven Q-Safe partner insti­tutions are the University of Malta, University of Birmingham, UK, University College Dublin, Ireland. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, University of Santiago de Compostela,Spain, The Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, Nantes Atlantic National College of Veterinary Medicine, Food Science and Engineering, France, and the Feiraco Sociedad Cooperativa Galega, Spain.

By the end of the project in September 2017, an e-learning course will be produced using the material exchanged over the course of the project. This will be made available to interested students and parties, and should serve as an educational tool to those interested in the subject matter.

The first teaching activity of Q-Safe will start in Malta on March 23 at the University of Malta. It will be opened by a European Food Safety Authority representative who will deliver a lecture that is open to the public.

www.um.edu.mt/healthsciences/projects/q-safe