Assuring safety in the food chain. A European research priority

In Europe, production and consumption of food has always been central to society and buying, preparing and eating food have always been considered wide social practices. Accordingly, food research has matured to become an increasingly multidisciplinary science.

In order to meet the increasing demand for food quality and safety, the EU Research Framework Programmes reflect the increasingly complex dynamics governing the field and provide a unique and complementary perspective on food science.

Particularly, with this booklet an effort has been made to explain what is being done with EC funds for food safety research. The focus is not on individual success stories
but rather on the approach of a programme and its instruments meant to contribute to achieving the European Research Area.