USP (Unites States Pharmacopeia, MoniQA Member since 2017) invites to an exciting workshop on Adulteration & Fraud in Food Ingredients and Dietary Supplements, 27-28 February 2018, Rockeville, USA. Speakers from Walmart, PepsiCo, the European Commission, as well as technical experts from the University of Guelph, FOCOS, and Fonterra are included in the programme. An optional olive oil tasting session will be held at the conclusion of the workshop.
Adulteration and fraud in food ingredients and dietary supplements are major concerns for industry, consumers, and regulatory authorities. USP's workshop brings together internationally recognized experts to discuss the current state of technologies for detecting economically motivated adulteration and minimizing supply chain risk.
Advance registration will be available through Friday, February 23, 2018. After that date, registration will be available on site at the USP Meetings Center.
For more information please follow the link http://www.usp.org/events-training/workshops/dietary-supplements-food-ingredients-adulteration-workshop?vsmaid=1144&vcid=62929.
After the great success and extremely positive response after the 1st MoniQA Symposium on Food Fraud Prevention and Effective Food Allergen Management in Bari, Italy, 26-27 January 2017, we would like to invite you to mark your calendars for the 2nd MoniQA Symposium scheduled for 7-8 June 2018, in Vienna, Austria.
Food authenticity, food fraud and the need for simple labeling are major drivers for both the food industry and companies involved in rapidly developing new analytical technologies. The food industry must adapt to this changing landscape and be aware of the regulatory and legal issues that drive the change in the safety and quality of food. This workshop will bring together food industry experts, regulators, academics and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss the latest information on the legal and other issues in the food space.
At the end of an eventful and successful year, we would like to thank all our members, friends and collaborators for their support and involvement in 2015. As a global network for food safety monitoring and quality assurance, MoniQA www.moniqa.org - first funded as an EU Network of Excellence and then established as an international association - has been active since 2007. We are happy to see that MoniQA is growing in numbers of involved network partners and collaborators, as well as in strength of impact with a number of new activities and plans for the years to come.
For more details please see MoniQA eNews Alert 2015-12-22
We would like to wish you a blessed Christmas time and a successful start in the New Year! We are looking forward to working with you in 2016!
On behalf of the MoniQA Association
Richard Cantrill (USA), President
Paul Finglas (UK), Vice-President
Roland Poms (Austria), Secretary General
It is time again to elect various officers for service in the MoniQA Association. MoniQA Members are asked to nominate potential candidates for the MoniQA Supervisory Board for the term 2018-2020. Eligible nominations are among the membership and a limit of only one candidate per member organization applies. Nominations can be made from the current Strategic/Technical Advisory Boards or the membership in general. Suggested candidates will elected for a three year term 2018-2020 via online vote in January 2018 by the General Assembly/main contacts of all members. Results will be communicated by the end of January 2018.
Please send your nomination or self-nomination to roland [dot] poms [at] moniqa [dot] org no later than 31 December 2017.
The quality of food supplements made from plants is an ongoing subject of debate inside the European community. These products are usually a complex mixtures of ingredients derived from plants of different origins and composition, and the quality of products can be affected by a countless number of factors including the incorrect identification of the plant species, the presence of naturally present compounds of some concern, unintentional contamination by biological, physical or chemical contaminants, or fraudulent adulteration with other plants and/or the addition of illegal substances.
The specific quality issues of plants for food supplements have been addressed and discussed at the conference dedicated to the Quality of Plant food supplements in Vienna 11 July 2013 and hosted by the Institute of Animal Nutrition and Functional Plant Compounds University of Veterinary Medicine.
To read more please go to: link
Addressing the vital role of modern science in food legislation and regulation
It is with great pleasure that the Global Harmonization Initiative (GHI) invites you to attend the 1st GHI World Congress on Food Safety and Security, 24 - 28 March 2019, in Leiden, The Netherlands.
It brings together leading scientists, researchers and research scholars from academia and industry, decision makers from international organisations, and the public from across the globe to advance the conversation about the vital role of modern science in food legislation and regulation.
27-28 February 2018 our new MoniQA member USP offers a workshop in Rockville, MD, USA.
Adulteration and fraud in food ingredients and dietary supplements are major concerns for industry, consumers, and regulatory authorities. USP’s workshop brings together internationally recognized experts to discuss the current state of technologies for detecting economically motivated adulteration and minimizing supply chain risk. Speakers from Walmart, PepsiCo, the European Commission, as well as technical experts from the University of Guelph, FOCOS, and Fonterra will be included. An optional olive oil tasting session will be held at the conclusion of the workshop.
The unit will next run in June/July/August 2018 including a residential week of face-to-face teaching in Manchester from the 9th-13th July 2018. The course is run at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology with elements also hosted by Waters Corporation (Wilmslow).
MoniQA would like to welcome the association's newly elected officials. Details on all elected officials can be found at www.moniqa.org/about/officials. The Supervisory Board Members are elected by the General Assembly for a term of three years. In 2015 Richard Cantrill from AOCS (USA) will serve as MoniQA President and Paul Finglas from IFR/EuroFir (UK) as Vice President. The composition of the current MoniQA Supervisory Board is:
Co-opted members to support the Supervisory Board in extending membership and promoting MoniQA activities in 2015 are:
Elected auditors of the association are:
MoniQA and its newly elected officials are looking forward to working with you and assisting you in matters of food safety and quality assessment, research project proposals, workshop and conference organisation, design and production of reference materials, and other international network activities.
Following the end of iFAAM – the EU funded collaborative research project on “Integrated Approaches to Food Allergy and Food Allergen Management”, ILSI Europe is organizing a symposium 18-20 April 2018, in Madrid, Spain. This symposium will provide an ideal forum to disseminate the evidence, knowledge and tools developed in the iFAAM project to stakeholders and actors involved in food allergen and food allergy management globally. The symposium will also identify key activities required for further implementation.
At the occasion of the Whole Grain Summit in Vienna MoniQA’s Gluten-Free Working Group, a subgroup of MoniQA’s Task Force on Food Allergen Reference Materials, met in Vienna to discuss the characterization and production of a new commodity Reference Material to complement the PWG gliadin standard. During the past 3 years TUM - the Technical University of Munich (Germany), BME - Budapest University of Economics (Hungary, BOKU - University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources Vienna (Austria, and HealthCanada (Canada) under the auspices of MoniQA Association have been working on the characterization of some 50 wheat flours to select most representatives wheat varieties to produce a reference material for gluten free analysis.
Hacettepe University: Following an invitation by Hacettepe University www.food.hacettepe.edu.tr based in Ankara, Roland Poms had the chance to visit various companies and the university in Ankara. Hacettepe University was one of the original partners in the EU FP6 funded MoniQA Network of Excellence and it still maintains an active role in MoniQA's food safety educational, training and research activities. With Prof. Hamit Köksel and Prof. Ismail Boyaci MoniQA is proud to have two leading scientists as main contacts in Turkey.
More than 600 people from 48 different countries attended the Horizon 2020 info day calls for proposals for Societal Challenge 2 (SC2) and LEIT- Biotechnology. This major event took place in Brussels, on 17 January 2014, at the Charlemagne building and was organised by the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation through Directorate F – Bioeconomy. You can access the presentations given on the day at ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/news-events/news/20140117_03_en.htm, which will be updated regularly.
Roland Poms, Secretary General of ICC and MoniQA, attended the Info Day in Brussels on behalf of members of ICC and MoniQA. Several specific questions communicated by members in advance of the meeting to the Secretariat of ICC and MoniQA could be addressed in the afternoon discussions with the EC officials. Members only can see some more detailed information and possibilities of joint collaborative projects in the protected members area at www.icc.or.at for ICC and www.moniqa.org for MoniQA (for members visible after log in). ICC and MoniQA will continue to disseminate up-to-date information on new developments within Horizon 2020 and will facilitate project participation for its members.
Roland Poms, Secretary General of MoniQA Association was invited by the Ankara based Turkish Chamber of Food Engineers to give a talk on Food Authenticity and Food Fraud Prevention - Recent misleading claims related to food and nutrition at the 10th Gida Mühendisligi Kongresi (10th Food Technology Congress) in Antalya, Turkey. Some 400 food technologists and food scientists from industry and academia participated in this biannual event. It was a special privilege for Roland Poms and MoniQA to be the only invited foreign guest. The meeting gave great opportunity to network with Turkish scientists and food producers, as well as to meet with new and old friends of MoniQA.
Some 35 participants were involved in a workshop on "Introduction to food allergen management" that was held on 7 February 2017 in Rome, Italy. This workshop was organised by Hylobates (Member of MoniQA since 2016) within the framework of the EU-funded Project iFAAM (Integrated Approaches to Food Allergen and Allergy Risk Management). The workshop provided an introduction on food allergen management and included two parts: a theoretical part with presentations and discussions given by Luca Bucchini and Roland Poms, and a practical part with hands-on training given by Dario Deli & Serena Leardini from Romer Labs, and Francesco Fieramosca & Valeria Bassani from Tecna.
Close to 100 participants followed an exciting scientific and at the same time very practical and informative symposium #MoniqaBari on food fraud prevention and effective food allergen management in Bari, Italy, 26-27 January 2017, bari2017.moniqa.org. Due to the extremely positive feedback, we are considering to take the program on the road.
The 5th MoniQA International Conference "Food and Health - Risks and Benefits" on "Innovative Technologies for Food Quality and Safety Management" porto2015.moniqa.org will focus on technological and analytical challenges and new developments in assuring food safety and quality linked to risk assessment, health concerns, consumer preferences, and clinical implications. Unique insights in the global scope of these matters by renown speakers, invited papers and most recent advances in science and technology generated by the next generation leading scientists will make up an exciting programme.
Abstract submission for posters is open until 15 July 2015 porto2015.moniqa.org/abstract_submission! Please mind the new deadlines for the conference:
Attention: We would like to encourage students and young researchers to submit abstracts and be part of the MoniQA competition for best abstract/poster and most cutting-edge research. MoniQA with the support of selected conference sponsors will provide travel support grants and other awards to the best abstracts evaluated by a small independent committee. 3 Travel grants of a minimum of 300.- € each are available on a competitive basis: Submit your abstract, register and be part of the competition for the following awards:
* Eligible are registered students (Bachelor, Masters and PhD; student ID required!). Submissions must be received by 15 July 2015 the latest. The award can be redeemed in the awarding ceremony at the 5th MoniQA International Conference on 18 September 2015, in Porto, Portugal.
** Eligible are all registered participants who present a poster at 5th MoniQA International Conference in Porto, Portugal. Posters will be selected during the Poster Viewing and Lunch on 17 September 2015, with the presenter available at his/her poster between 12:30-14:00. The award will be given during the awarding ceremony at the 5th MoniQA International Conference on 18 September 2015, in Porto, Portugal.
Online Registration is now open! Benefit from early bird and membership discounts!
Register now at porto2015.moniqa.org/register and benefit from a 15% discount on the regular registration fee. Members of the MoniQA Association, ICETA and EuroFIR, as well as students enjoy a special registration fee, respectively.
Become a sponsor! Check out our offerings and your opportunities!
Select a sponsor package that may be suited for you at porto2015.moniqa.org/sponsoring. Please mind some additional benefits were recently added for Platinum Sponsors (only one available) and Gold Sponsors.
Join the current group of sponsors:
MoniQA (Organiser) www.moniqa.org
ICETA (Co-organiser and local host) www.iceta.up.pt
R-Biopharm (Gold Sponsor) www.r-biopharm.com
TAP (Official Carrier) www.flytap.com
EuroFIR www.eurofir.org
ISEKI Food Association www.iseki-food.net
GHI www.globalharmonization.net
iFAAM www.inflammation-repair.manchester.ac.uk/ifaam
MycoSpec mycospec.eu
SPICED www.spiced.eu
This year, the C&E Spring Meeting will take place in Budapest with the theme Celebrating Cereals in the AACC International Centennial year: it will be the occasion to review the importance of cereals - and wheat in particular - in our daily diet and discuss the scientific progress in breeding, processing and nutritional aspects, with an outlook to the future.
The University of Budapest has a long standing reputation in cereal science thanks to its 95 year old Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science at Budapest University of Technology and Economics. In cooperation with the Cereals & Europe team and other organizing and sponsoring parties, the local hosts will do everything to guarantee the friendly environment to our guests for the effective scientific work and networking.
Hungary has a long tradition and widely applied results in the areas of cereal breeding, chemistry and technology, qualification agricultural production and milling processes. Therefore it is our great pleasure that Budapest can host the European centennial event of AACCI. The beautiful capital of Hungary with the Danube, many historical places and cultural events ensure the pleasant background of the conference.
MoniQA will be represented by Dr. Roland Poms with a talk on the "MoniQA Allergen Reference Materials Programme for Gluten Free Analysis" and "A novel approach of isotope analysis to distinguish organically and conventionally grown crops".
The C&E Spring Meeting is intended to all cereal scientists, cereal based product developers, lab technicians, application technologists, plant supervisors, academics keen to learn more about practical aspects of scientific findings and all others stakeholders who want to know more about cereal science and bakery technology.
Please make sure to register at www.cespringmeeting2015.org and benefit from the extended Early Bird fee until 16 March 2015!
The 5th MoniQA International Conference "Food and Health - Risks and Benefits" on "Innovative Technologies for Food Quality and Safety Management" will be held in Porto, 16-18 September 2015. It continues the successful series of MoniQA International Conferences, and targets participants from regulatory, industry, research and technology, method providers, media and consumer associations. For details please go to the conference website porto2015.moniqa.org.
Abstract submission is now open! Please go to porto2015.moniqa.org/abstract_submission for submission guidelines. The submission deadline is 31 May 2015 for oral and poster presentations.
Become a sponsor of this event! Find a sponsor package that may be suited for you at porto2015.moniqa.org/sponsoring.
This time technological and analytical challenges in assuring food safety and quality will meet risk assessment, health concerns, consumer preferences, and clinical implications. Unique insights in the global scope of these matters by renown speakers, invited papers and most recent advances in science and technology generated by the next generation leading scientists will make up an exciting programme.
We are looking forward to welcoming you in Porto at the 5th MoniQA International Conference. We would like to encourage you to make use of one or more of the various opportunities to contribute to the conference as speaker, poster presenter, exhibitor, sponsor, volunteer or just to enjoy the technical programme, satellite training workshops, networking opportunities, or social events at the meeting in Porto.
We are hoping to see you in Porto!
Dr. Isabel Mafra and Dr. Roland Ernest Poms
On behalf of the Conference Committees
This multidisciplinary congress provides a forum for both internationally established and young researchers to exchange advanced knowledge on Food Contaminants and Human Health. The congress will include keynote lectures given by world-renowned scholars, in addition to oral and poster sessions. State of the Art developments in different fields of chemical mixtures: analytical, exposure assessment, bioavailability and toxicity of food contaminants will be covered during presentations. The ICFC2015 has been organized in the context of the project MYCOMIX - Exploring the toxic effects of mixtures of mycotoxins in infant food and potential health impact, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/DTP-FT0/0417/2012; FCT, Portugal).
ICFC 2015 welcomes the submission of abstracts for original contributors to the field of food contaminants and human health. The online abstract submission is now open to all experts and value contributors.
Deadlines:
You can submit your abstracts directly through the web form available at www.icfc2015.com. The detailed Program is available at www.icfc2015.com/program.htm.
The organizers are looking forward to welcoming you in Lisbon!
The 2015 MoniQA Board Election is upon us and we ask you to consider the candidates and other association issues and vote. Voting is perhaps one of the most important and significant member privileges. Voting has opened on 29 January 2015 and closed on 16 February 2015.
Items to be voted on include
If you are a General Assembly member entitled to vote, please cast your vote at www.moniqa.org/ga/elections_jan_2015 (login required).
Thank you for your involvement in the MoniQA Association. Your input and feedback are important to us. We are looking forward to our future collaboration in MoniQA.
On behalf of EuroFIR AISBL we are pleased to announce a workshop on EU Project Management and Science Communication.
The workshop will take place at the Thon Hotel Bristol Stephanie in Brussels (Belgium) from Monday 17 November (12:30) to Thursday 21 November 2014 (17:30).
Aim of the workshop
Participants will gain sufficient knowledge to successfully manage EU-funded projects. The workshop is targeted primarily at academics or other staff from public, private and non-profit sectors from both EU and non-EU countries new to project management or who want to refresh their knowledge with the advent of Horizon2020.
Participation
A maximum of 25 applicants will be selected in order to ensure the course is highly interactive. Applicant should have at least a Bachelor of Art or Science at Honours level (BA Hons or BSc Hons) or equivalent and some relevant work experience, e.g. participated in an EU-funded or other multi-centre project. The modules will be taught in English and are highly interactive. Therefore, participants should have a good to very good command of English.
Programme
View the programme at www.eurofir.org/?p=3330. More information on application, fees and accommodation is available on the EuroFIR website at www.eurofir.org/?p=3315. MoniQA Members are entitled to a 15% discount.
It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the 2014 multi-mycotoxin proficiency test (PT) organised by the MoniQA member CODA-CERVA (Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Belgium).
The main objective of the PT is to provide interested laboratories with an opportunity to test their multi-mycotoxin methods and to compare their results with those of other laboratories. The use of LC-MS/MS methods, although not strictly required, is highly recommended. Detailed information can be found in the attached Invitation Letter.
If you wish to participate please register at neonet.coda-cerva.be/neonet/Register_PT.aspx by 14 September 2014. Do not hesitate to contact us for any further information at PT_myco_org [at] coda-cerva [dot] be.
The Allergen Reference Materials Working Group was kicked-off in February 2013 in Washington, USA. The aim of this ICC and MoniQA supported working group is to:
The next MoniQA Food Allergen Reference Materials Meeting will be held on Sunday 7 September 2014, 14:00-16:30 prior to the AOAC 128th Annual Meeting and Exposition, in Boca Raton (Florida).
From September 2014 onwards food service companies already want compliant information to the new 1169/2011 EU-food labeling regulation! Protect your sales and avoid high costs of non-compliance
Make food information exciting while protecting brands and clients is what thought leaders of the food sector are currently discussing. How to take advantage of the new EU-regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information also for non-prepacked foods, which is impacting the entire food supply-chain including eCommerce/food delivery services and catering, restaurants and fresh counters in retail.
Join an inspirational day of open innovation to accelerate your food labeling strategy and reduce risks of non-compliance with the help of all experts at your finger tips. For each question, teams will define goals, what has been done and what are the next steps.
The MoniQA member ISPA (Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy) is organising a Training Course on Detection Techniques for Mycotoxins in the Food/Feed Chain from 6 to 10 October 2014 at ISPA in Bari, Italy, under the aegis of the International Society for Mycotoxicology (ISM).
On behalf of the MoniQA member CNR-ISPA (National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Sciences of Food Production), it is our pleasure to invite interested laboratories to participate in a multi-mycotoxin proficiency test (PT).
The main objective of the PT is to provide interested laboratories with an opportunity to test their multi-mycotoxin methods and to compare their results with those of other laboratories. The use of LC-MS(MS) methods, although not strictly required, is highly recommended. Detailed information can be found in the attached Invitation Letter.
If you wish to participate please complete the attached Registration Form and send it by email to Veronica Lattanzio (veronica [dot] lattanzio [at] ispa [dot] cnr [dot] it) and Annalisa De Girolamo (annalisa [dot] degirolamo [at] ispa [dot] cnr [dot] it) by 20 May 2014. Do not hesitate to contact us for any further information about the procedure of the proficiency test.
The call for nominations for the GCHERA (Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for the Agricultural and Life Sciences) World Agriculture Prize 2014 Prize is now open. The 2014 Prize will be awarded to an academic/faculty member from a higher education institution working in the disciplines relating to the agricultural and life sciences in recognition of the academic/faculty member's life time achievements. A nominee will demonstrate exceptional and significant achievement in his or her engagement in the mission of higher education institutions relating to agricultural and life sciences – in education, research and innovation. This impact will most likely be demonstrated in the work of the nominee in the development of the institution(s) in which the nominee has served, and in the local and wider geographical region of those institution(s), but not necessarily globally. For full details of the Terms & Conditions for submitting a nomination for the prize see www.gchera-wap.org
The 3rd International ISEKI_Food Conference will take place in Athens, Greece, 21-23 May 2014 with the general aims to contribute to the creation of an "open" international forum for researchers, education scientists, technologists and industry representatives as well as food consumers, to promote constructive dialogue and collaboration on topics relevant to Food Science and Technology, Industry and Education and to present and disseminate the results of the activities developed by the ISEKI_Food network projects.
This conference will be focused on Food Science and Technology for a Bioeconomy 2020. Among a wide number of conference topics, the re-thinking of education in terms of strategies and methods for higher education and continual professional development, the most recent research innovations and emergent requirements, and developments and needs for an industry sustainable food supply, will be on top of the agenda. Several pre-conference events are also included and organized: The final session of the pilot "Summer School" for teachers in Food Science & Technology, and two workshops on European PhD research and involvement and role of industry.
For more information including the updated programme, please visit the conference website www.isekiconferences.com/athens2014. We look forward to welcoming you to Athens in 2014.
All MoniQA Members are cordially invited to attend the next MoniQA General Assembly scheduled on 2 April 2014, 13:00-15:00, Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands at the end of the 9th Rapid Methods Europe Conference www.bastiaanse-communication.com/rme2014. A detailed agenda will be provided by beginning of March 2014.
Eligible to vote is one representative of each of the institutions registered as MoniQA ordinary and founder member, respectively, whereas a founder member's vote is weighted as three and an ordinary member's vote as one vote. If the main contact of an institution is unable to attend the General Assembly, a replacement from the same institution can be nominated, which needs to be communicated to us prior to the meeting.
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