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| Conference Room Document 68 English only | |
second fao/who global forum of food safety regulators
Bangkok, Thailand, 12-14 October 2004
(Paper prepared by the European Commission)
The European Union has been funding research on a shared-cost basis for nearly twenty five years in domains as varied as aerospace, energy, transport and agriculture. In the latter field, attention has been focused increasingly on research into food safety in the wake of the BSE and other crises. The research and technological development directorate general of the European Commission has the responsibility of the overall co-ordination of the European research effort. Its aim is to create the European Research Area by focusing and structuring European research, and by strengthening the foundations of its structure and its resources. The chief instrument in financial terms is the Framework Programme (currently the sixth of the series) which has allocated 750 million Euro to focusing and integrating community research in food safety for the period 2002-2006. The commission has also committed further resources to the co-ordination of the national research programmes and to the training and mobility of scientists. This effort is not restricted to the 25 member states of the European Union. With very few exceptions, any country in the world can participate in EC research, albeit on differing financial terms. This is particularly important for improving food safety where the problems to be solved are often global and demand a broad, comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach.
The European parliament voted a budget of 17,883 million Euro to finance its sixth framework programme (FP61) for the period 2002-6. Nearly 70% of this sum is devoted to funding research projects on a shared cost basis with the member states, and on carefully defined thematic priorities, one of which is food quality and safety. In this priority area, the Commission will spend 750 million Euro (or 6% of the thematic priority budget) on a variety of projects that are designed to improve food safety and quality, with the long-term aim of improving the health and welfare of the consumer. Indeed, one of the guiding principles of this thematic program is known as the “fork to farm” approach, to reflect its driving force which resides in society’s demands. Research proposals must be responsive to the needs of the consumer and society, and they must incorporate the ‘food chain’ philosophy, following food production from the farm through processing and retailing to the consumer’s plate. Fuller information on the food safety and quality thematic area can be found at http://www.cordis.lu/food/home.html.
Each thematic priority has its own work programme. This is made up of a number of topics that are defined in conjunction with the 25 member states (and the associated and candidate states) of the European Union. There is widespread consultation on its content with the member states (via specialized committees), with the other directorates general of the Commission (such as health and consumer safety, agriculture, environment), with agencies (especially EFSA, the European Food Safety Agency), with industry and with any other body that considers it has a stake in European Research. The result of this work is the periodic (approximately annual) publication of a call text that contains the details of topics that are open to proposals. The latest of these (FP6-2004-FOOD-3-B) closes on 8th February 2005. Full details of the topics that it covers can be found at the following URL: http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/call_details.cfm?CALL_ID=152#. Several areas covered in this call are of particular relevance to this forum and of interest to food regulators. The “Total food chain” area covers many themes including process innovation leading to low or zero pathogenic loads on food. “Epidemiology of food-related diseases and allergies” is an area in its own right where research will focus on epidemiological studies of the effect of diet, food composition and life style factors on the health of consumers (and specific population groups such as children), and the prevention or development of specific diseases, allergies and disorders. Other key points are risk assessment, and the development of epidemiological and intervention models. A third area is “Traceability processes along the production chain” where the objective is to increase consumer confidence in the food supply by strengthening the scientific and technological basis for ensuring complete traceability along the entire food chain, including animal feed.
Participation in the Framework programme is on a strictly competitive basis governed by a set of rules. First, all proposals must be sent to the Commission by the fixed closing date. Any group of public and private researchers forming a consortium must check that they are eligible, and any proposal that is submitted must correspond closely to the topics defined in the work programme. Proposals are evaluated by external, independent panels of experts and are scored against a set of criteria. Only the proposals that are awarded the threshold scores or above are retained for the final step. The result is that only the top scoring proposals receive a proposition for funding. A noteworthy feature of FP6 was the introduction of new instruments known as ‘Integrated Projects’ and ‘Networks of Excellence’. In both cases, the number of participants can be large, allowing extremely ambitious projects to be tackled. A list and summary of current funded projects can be found at http://europa.eu.int/ comm/research/fp6/projects.cfm?p=5.
The effort to improve European research includes funding for training to improve skills. This involves encouraging the mobility of young scientists so that all may benefit from the facilities and methods that exist in the EU, no matter where they may be located. This is why the Marie Curie programme for training research workers that was introduced many years ago was reinforced under FP6. It covers all areas of research, and its budget is 1,700 million Euros. Of special interest to this forum, and many of the participants, is its international co-operation component. This represents an important dimension of the Sixth Framework Programme. As a contribution to a European Research Area open to the world, it is implemented in the Sixth Framework Programme through four major routes:
Shared cost research projects and measures for the training and mobility of scientists are vital elements in the move to build the European Research Area. To produce the fullest impact of community research in food safety, the Commission also funds a number of other measures. These are sub-divided into the following categories.
There are many national bodies, foundations and charities in Europe that finance research in food safety and its related areas. There is a risk that this diversity may lead to the unnecessary duplication of effort, and it may be difficult for one funding body with one university, institute or industrial research laboratory to assemble the critical mass needed to solve today’s complex problems, particularly when a multidisciplinary approach is needed. A further brake to national research funding occurs when national infrastructures are insufficient. Within FP6, the commission has devised other tools to assist in the co-ordination of nationally funded research. Two of these tools deserve further mention in the context of this forum.
The first is known as ERA-NET. This acronym is used to designate the networking of nationally or regionally funded programmes. It is targeted at programme managers rather than research teams. ERA-NET maintains an open call for proposals up to 2005 and has a budget €148 million. The objective of the ERA-NET scheme is to step up the cooperation and coordination of research activities carried out at national or regional level in the Member States and Associated States through:
The scheme will contribute to making the European Research Area a reality by improving the coherence and coordination across Europe of such research programmes. The scheme will also enable national systems to take on tasks collectively that they would not have been able to tackle independently
The second tool is COST. In contrast to ERA-NET, COST aims to network projects and individual laboratories in its member states. It has an open and flexible structure which allows researchers from almost any country in the world to join in its work, organized as COST Actions. Proposals can be submitted at any time to COST for examination by the relevant technical committee of experts. There is a food science domain, and this currently funds the co-ordination of an Action (N° 920) of food borne zoonoses. The budget for the four years of FP6 will be at least 50 million Euro. Since COST does not fund the actual research, this money provides powerful leverage for co-ordination. Scientific meetings, the publication of proceedings, and short-term scientific exchanges can take place using these funds
Through a variety of instruments, Europe is steadily articulating its research effort in many areas including that of food quality and safety. Conscious of the need to increase research in many areas directly or indirectly connected with food safety and consumer health, the then commissioner for research, Philippe Busquin proposed that the member states of the European Union should adopt the objective of increasing research spending to 3% of gross domestic product by the year 2010. This was endorsed by a meeting of the Council of Ministers and has since become known as the ‘Lisbon objective’. If Europe meets this objective, it will then devote proportionately as much money to research as the USA and Japan. This is necessary in view of what we still need to learn to increase the security of the citizen. There is still no cure for BSE, the very young and the old remain vulnerable to food borne Salmonella and Listeria infections. Emerging animal diseases threaten to gain a hold in Europe, the legacy of old industrial processes has allowed poisons such as dioxin to penetrate the food chain, while the over-enthusiastic use of PCB pesticides has run off through our rivers to our seas, adding to the problems of the fishing and aquaculture industries. During the coming months, the European parliament will be examining the proposals for funding the next, seventh Framework Programme. The outcome of this process will determine the extent of the European effort in food safety research up to the year 2010.
1 More information about FP6 can be found at http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/stepbystep/home.html . This indicated budget covers all areas except for research into atomic energy.