Invited representatives from Standardisation Organisations around the globe will kick-off the discussion on priorities and main requirements for design, production and validation of Reference Materials for food allergen and gluten-free analysis. This first meeting is hosted by Trilogy Laboratories/R-Biopharm, one of MoniQA's members in Washington, Missouri, USA. The meeting's aim is to draft a first list of priority materials and to identify key points to be included in a potential future guidance document for the production of such materials. MoniQA will invite to a follow-up meeting to an extended discussion forum for MoniQA members and representatives of other invited research institutions/method providers/and regulatory agents in connection with the Gluten-Free Symposium in Vienna, Austria, 12-14 June 2013.
The CONffIDENCE Project invites the MoniQA colleagues to the final stakeholder workshop of CONFFIDENCE (www.conffidence.eu) that will take place in Brussels on 18 December 2012. For further information please click here: www.moniqa.org/events/conffidence_stakeholder_2012
The objective of the EU supported research project FRISBEE (Food Refrigeration Innovations for Safety, consumers’ Benefit, Environmental impact and Energy optimization along the cold chain in Europe) is to provide new tools, concepts and solutions for improving refrigeration technologies along the European food cold chain. At all stages the needs of consumer and European industry will be considered. Among the tasks of the project is to develop new innovative mathematical modeling tools that combine food quality and safety together with energy, environmental and economic aspects to predict and control food quality and safety in the cold chain.
In order to gain a greater insight into deviations between real cold chain data and targeted specifications, a web based platform for building a comprehensive Cold Chain database has been set up: http://www.frisbee-project.eu/coldchaindb.html
From your published work and research activities or your company's activities you have been identified as a potential contributor. As a contributor, you will have privileged access to the Cold Chain Database (by login and password) and the access to the database will be secured.
Your input will be valuable in updating and extending the already released First European Cold Chain Database which is serving as a valuable tool to people and organizations that like you have contributed and are involved in the Cold Chain as researchers or industrial players.
In 2011, the fourth year of publication, the impact factor of QAS – the International Journal of Quality assurance and Safety of Crops and Foods has reached 0.624. It has grown from 0.444 from its first rating within one year.
QAS would like to say a big ‘Thank you’ to our contributors and reviewers, it is with their help we have grown the journal in status and scientific quality. This includes an increase to 0.624 in our impact factor in 2011 with an IF ranking of 90 out of 128, considering our relatively junior status in the field of scientific journal publishing is a good start. “I hope that QAS and the material that you have provided have contributed in some small way to providing the ideas that we need to the challenges that we face in the food industry” , Stanley Cauvain, QAS Co-Editor in Chief, Managing Director and Founder of BakeTran, United Kingdom.
In early 2011 QAS – the International Journal of Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods (the official Journal of ICC and MoniQA), was selected for coverage in Thomson Reuters products and services. Since then the journal has been indexed and abstracted in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SciSearch), the Journal Citation Reports (Science Edition) and Current Contents®. Coverage started with volume 1 (2009).
Selected Wiley-Blackwell published papers including one paper QAS paper (“Short Communication: Some key emerging food safety issues”; Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods, Volume 2, Issue 3, Pages 141-148) will be highlighted in a special eNewsletter. By this, QAS will benefit from increased readership.
The new MoniQA Annual Report 2012 is now available as pdf document for downloading. It highlights the achievements of the FP7 funded Network of Excellence from 2007 till 2012 and some of the new activities of the MoniQA Association established in 2011. Please find the link for downloading the report below in high and low resolution.
RTD Services in collaboration with EuroFIR organises a 3 day workshop-style seminar 'Successful planning and implementation of FP7 projects', which offers a training opportunity for researchers and research managers. The seminar combines theory, case studies and group work to provide both the “big picture” view and practical hands-on planning and implementation for FP7.The project development course will have a special focus on preparation for the upcoming and final KBBE deadline!
This seminar provides three compact, single day courses:
Each one-day course can be booked individually with reduced rates for 2 and 3 day bookings. There is also a special rate for EuroFIR AISBL and MoniQA Association members.
For further information click here.
For registration, please contact Mrs Menouch Solimani at EuroFIR AISBL (secretariat [at] eurofir [dot] org).
“An interactive workshop on how to contribute to the European Food Research Agenda for Horizon 2020 and beyond - via KICs, the European Technology Platform (Food for Life) and the NCPs” 26th February 2013
During a half day workshop representatives from National Contact Points (NCPs), Technology Platform (Food for Life) and Knowledge Innovation Community (KIC) will present ways of actively contributing to the H2020 European Food Safety Research Agenda at different levels. In interactive sessions, participants get the chance to present their cases, share ideas with the experts and create the basis for their future involvement.
A detailed programme of this pre-conference workshop will be available soon.
This event is linked to the 4th MoniQA International Conference “Food Safety under Global Pressure of Climate Change, Food Security and Economic Crises" In Budapest 26th February – 1st March 2013. The workshop will be held on the 26th of February, 09:00-12:00. The registration fee for this session is included in the registration fee for the main conference. Without main conference participation, a one-day-ticket must be purchased.
For the registration, please go to http://budapest2013.moniqa.org.
The session is organised by MoniQA and ICC and will be chaired by Rainer Svacinka, MSc. rainer [dot] svacinka [at] icc [dot] or [dot] at
The Workshop on “Rapid Methods for the Microbiological Analysis of Food” (in Bulgarian) organised by the University of Food Technology and MoniQA was successfully held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria from 19-21 September 2012. A mix of presenters from Universities, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency and 8 different companies (such as Merck, Biosystems Ltd and Diamed Ltd) trained around 40 participants for 3 days. The feedback from the participants was enthusiastic and highlights the potential for further MoniQA trainings.
“Thank you” to the successful organisers at the University of Food Technology.
ICC, MoniQA and HealthGrain Forum were presented at the AACCI Annual Meeting 2012 in Hollywood, Florida, USA, 30 September - 3 October 2012, in a joint exhibition table top, in the poster session, and in oral presentations during the ICC Luncheon 2012. Roland Poms from ICC arranged for the dissemination activities and represented the three associations at the AACCI Annual Meeting 2012. The conference and exhibition counted some 1100 delegates and some 50 old and new friends of ICC enjoyed the traditional ICC Luncheon and an update on ICC activities.
ICC is looking forward to the next ICC Luncheon at the AACCI Annual Meeting 2013 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 29 September - 2 October 2013.
Further info: www.aaccnet.org/meetings/annual/Pages/default.aspx
ICC and MoniQA were represented by Roland Poms at the latest meeting of the PWG (prolamin working group) in Leuven, Belgium, 20-22 September 2012, where new clinical research results were presented and food analytical challenges were discussed. Collaboration between the PWG, ICC and MoniQA was reaffirmed especially related to the design and potential production of a new reference material and in organising technical sessions at upcoming conferences, such as the 4th MoniQA International Conference in Budapest, Hungary, 26 February – 1 March 2013 and the 3rd International Gluten Free Conference in Vienna, Austria, 12-14 June 2013.
Roland Poms represented MoniQA at the “11th Food Chemistry Meeting (11EQA)” in Portugal with a keynote speech on “International surveillance system for food safety”. Around 200 participants attended the event.
For further information on the event please go to http://www.spq.pt/eventos/11eqa/?setLn=en
The training is organised by University of Food Technology and MoniQA. It will take place at the University of Food Technology, Plovdiv and will be held in Bulgarian language.
ICC together with MoniQA and HEALTHGRAIN Forum will be present at the "AACC International Annual Meeting 2012" with a shared table top.
Further info: http://www.aaccnet.org/meetings/annual/Pages/default.aspx
Roland Poms, Secretary General of MoniQA and ICC, is holding a lecture on “Safety, Traceability and Authenticity”. For the detailed scientific programme and further information please go to:
New! For MoniQA Members only we compiled important documents under Privileged Information at www.moniqa.org/members/privileged_information. Currently this page contains the most recent discussion paper on EC KBBE Calls of Theme 2, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnologies , which is planned to be published in early summer 2012, a collection of free protocols and guidelines for method validation, MoniQA Career Centre - Jobs, Mobility and Exchange Grants, PhD Positions, Travel Bursaries, and past MoniQA Alerts. We appreciate your input, if you have information that you would like to share or if you are looking for relevant information that might be of interest to the network. Contact: roland [dot] poms [at] icc [dot] or [dot] at.
4th MoniQA International Conference, 26 February - 1 March 2013
Novotel Budapest Congress, Alkotas Utca 63-67, 1123 Budapest, Hungary
Food Safety under Global Pressure by Climate Change, Food Security and Economic Crises
Please register now at http://budapest2013.moniqa.org/registration.
Get a glimpse at the outstanding conference programme at
http://budapest2013.moniqa.org/programme.
The following keynote speakers will contribute to the highly relevant conference themes:
Urgent! There is room for 2 additional international speakers in the Food Safety and Regulations Session at the 14th ICC Cereal and Bread Congress 2012 "Science and Technology Innovation for Healthy Cereals & Oils", Beijing, China, 6-9 August 2012 (www.ccoaonline.com/2012). The session is chaired by Prof. Meinolf Lindhauer, MBRI, Germany, and Bian Ke, ISO TC34, China. As the online abstract submission deadline is past, please submit your abstracts directly to roland [dot] poms [at] icc [dot] or [dot] at. Deadline: 30 April 2012.
MoniQA was organising a scientific session at the World Mycotoxin Forum "WMF meets IUPAC" Conference in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 5-9 November 2012. The session included talks on MoniQA (Roland Poms, ICC, Austria), effects of processing on Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone levels in wheat (Sine Yener, HCTU, Turkey), an international ring trial for multi-mycotoxin LC-MS-MS analyis (Michele Solfrizzo, ISPA-CNR, Italy), a socio-economic case study on mycotoxin levels in Turkey (Line Lindner, ICC, Austria), and matrix effects in mycotoxin determination by HPLC-MS (Alexandra Malachova, Institute of Chemical Technology, Czech Republic and BOKU Vienna, Department IFA-Tulln, Austria).
More info on the MoniQA Session and the Conference: http://www.wmfmeetsiupac.org/html/welcome.asp
NEW! For MoniQA Members only we publish job and position openings and grants for senior and young researchers, managers, students, etc. in relevant fields of food safety and quality, food processing and product development, in the MoniQA Career Centre at http://www.moniqa.org/members/privileged_information/career_center.
1) Project Officer (full time) - PhD student post to work on the Development of Novel Disinfection Technologies for Fresh Produce (DiTec).
2) Travel bursary for attendance at IC-ANMBES 2012 (Analytical and Nano-analytical Methods for Biomedical and Environmental Sciences) organised by Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania.
3) 3-years Post-doc grant at the Research Unit of Food Technology at the Department of Food Science of the University of Teramo, Italy, on "Multi-factorial and multi-functional approach to study the physical, chemical and sensory stability of olive oil based o/w emulsions".
4) 2 Analytical experts for UNIDO HQ
Roland Poms, Secretary General of MoniQA Association will lecture on "Reference materials and method validation in food safety assurance" at BOKU - University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources, Vienna, Austria. Apart from enrolled MSc and PhD students, MoniQA members have access to a maximum of 10 places. If interested, please register by 25 February 2012 by email to roland [dot] poms [at] icc [dot] or [dot] at. Participation for MoniQA members is free, no support for travel and accommodation is available. The lectures, excursions and workshop activities are on 6 afternoons between 14:00-17:00 on February 27, 28, 29, and March 1, 8, 9).
The aim of the workshop on „Reference materials and method validation in food safety assurance” is to describe the issues and challenges involved in the international comparability and validity of analytical results in the assurance of food safety and quality. On the basis of practical examples the focus will be on current hot topics, such as mycotoxins, food allergens, pathogenic micro-organisms, GMOs, etc., the analytical possibilities (including rapid methods), and the corresponding regulations. Additionally, an overview of international standardization bodies and examples of international validation studies will be given.
Bangkok, Thailand: First Joint MoniQA/BIOTEC/NSTDA/TU Workshop on “Effective Food Allergen Management”, 2-4 April 2012 at the NSTDA-BioTech Center Bangkok
MoniQA Association was invited to co-organise a workshop on “Effective Food Allergen Management” for Laboratories, Industry, Food Manufacturers, Authorities and Policy Makers in Bangkok, Thailand. Please see the programme at http://association.moniqa.org/workshops/allergen_bangkok_2012.
The theoretical part is limited to 50 participants, the practical laboratory exercise is limited to 30 participants. The practical lab exercise will include demonstration and hands-on use of ELISA and DipStick assays.
Free Registration at the Joint IAM/MoniQA Workshop “Choosing the right laboratories for official control”, 4 March 2012, at Ramada Plaza Budapest Hotel
There are limited places, free registration applies to Codex delegates, IAM members and one delegate per MoniQA member institution. For details please go to
http://association.moniqa.org/workshops/laboratory_control_budapest_2012
To register, please go directly to
http://association.moniqa.org/workshops/laboratory_control_budapest_2012/register
Budapest, Hungary: Exclusive Sponsoring Opportunity for MoniQA and IAM members only! Starting with as little as € 200!
Starting with as little as € 200.- sponsoring at the Joint IAM/MoniQA Workshop "Choosing the right laboratories for official control", 4 March 2012, at Ramada Plaza, in Budapest, Hungary, is exclusively offered to the members of IAM and MoniQA Association only. Due to the end of the EU funding of MoniQA the organizers welcome sponsoring of the event (to be used for coffee breaks, venue, etc…) starting as low as € 200.- (any higher sponsoring amounts are also welcome!). There is room for promotion materials of sponsors to be made available to the usually 80-120 participants from about 50-60 countries. Sign up as a sponsor by contacting roland [dot] poms [at] icc [dot] or [dot] at, more details on the workshop are at
http://association.moniqa.org/workshops/laboratory_control_budapest_2012
EFSA publishes calls for tenders for all its procurement needs – services, goods, works or for the purchase or rental of a building.
Calls for tenders planned for launch in 2012 under EFSA‘s Annual Work Programme for Science Procurement Projects have been published on 8 February 2012. Several topics are relevant to food safety, food security and nutrition.
For details use the following link: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/procurement/tenders.htm
UNIDO, with its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, is looking for an analytical chemist and a microbiology expert in the fisheries sector. The chemistry expert must have experience in AAS as well as in LCMSMS / GCMS methods. The microbiologist expert must have experience in Real Time PCR and other standard methods applicable in the fisheries sector.
The aim of the assignments is to guide the analysts of the Bangladesh FIQC in getting accreditation for these methods.
Interested? – Then please contact Karl Schebesta, Industrial Development Officer at UNIDO HQ, VIC, P-O. Box 300, 1400 Vienna, Austria, Tel: +43 1 26026 3490, Fax: +43 1 21346 3490; k [dot] schebesta [at] unido [dot] org.
Free Registration at EFSA-Austria-Norway Workshop at OECD on “Key Allergens and Compositional Analysis in the Allergenicity Assessment of Genetically Modified Plants”, 21 March 2012, Paris, France
Invited speakers from the prestigious MoniQA Network of Excellence are involved in the EFSA Workshop on allergenicity assessment of GM plants. MoniQA Association Members are offered free registration at this workshop. A limited number of places are available and thus the organizer may not be able to accommodate all registrations.
The Final Programme and the Registration Form are available at
http://association.moniqa.org/workshops/efsa_allergen_paris_2012.
Call for speakers for the EFSA-Austria-Norway Workshop at OECD on “Key Allergens and Compositional Analysis in the Allergenicity Assessment of Genetically Modified Plants”, 21 March 2012, Paris, France
MoniQA was asked by the organizers to propose speakers for two topics to be presented at the EFSA Allergenicity Workshop in Paris
http://association.moniqa.org/workshops/efsa_allergen_paris_2012:
1) Biological variation of allergen concentration in (crop) plants (possibly also covering the issue of existing databases of plant allergen concentration)
2) Perspective of the food industry on allergenicity testing (introducing a perspective broader than GMO allergenicty testing)
Proposals may be sent to roland [dot] poms [at] icc [dot] or [dot] at or directly to Dr. Armin Spoek at spoek [at] ifz [dot] tugraz [dot] at no later than 16 February 2012!
Brussels, 13 February 2012 – The European Commission has today adopted a strategy to shift the European economy towards greater and more sustainable use of renewable resources. With the world population approaching 9 billion by 2050 and natural resources finite, Europe needs renewable biological resources for secure and healthy food and feed, as well as for materials, energy, and other products. The Commission's strategy and action plan, “Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe”, outlines a coherent, cross-sectoral and inter-disciplinary approach to the issue. The goal is a more innovative and low-emissions economy, reconciling demands for sustainable agriculture and fisheries, food security, and the sustainable use of renewable biological resources for industrial purposes, while ensuring biodiversity and environmental protection. The plan therefore focuses on three key aspects: developing new technologies and processes for the bioeconomy; developing markets and competitiveness in bioeconomy sectors; and pushing policymakers and stakeholders to work more closely together.
Allergen Management is an important issue regarding the saftey of food. Labelling of allergens as ingredients is mandatory since severals years. However, cross contamination of allergens to “allergen-free” products cause still problems in the industry. The webinar will demonstrate the main important steps in the organisation to manage allergens and the cross contamination. Participants will get a 10 step overview to improve their allergen management after the seminar. Questions may be addressed during or after the seminar.
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