The event, to be held in Dublin at the end of this week, will tackle major opportunities and challenges facing the food industry including functional foods and nutraceutical technology, along with a range of issues involving food safety.
Organised by Teagasc, the Irish Agriculutre and Food Development Authority, the conference is the final in a series of six European Union Risk Analysis Information Network (EU-RAIN) conferences held throughout Europe over the last three years.
In industrialised countries, an estimated 10 to 30 per cent of the population suffer food-borne illnesses every year, usually due to contamination of food with pathogenic microorganisms.
Furthermore, the health of millions is at risk due to being overweight or obese. Both chronic and acute illnesses linked to food consumption result in thousands of deaths and place a major burden on the health sector.
Such illnesses also result in huge economic costs in terms of lost working days and in terms of product recall costs and loss of business for the food industry in the case of food-borne illness outbreaks.
Encouraging the adoption of better dietary habits and increased physical activity remains a key challenge for health professionals tackling the obesity and overweight issue.
Targeting food producers, processors, scientists, nutritionists, health professionals, environmental health officers, food safety regulators, epidemiologists, health promotion agencies and consumers, the conference will discuss future research needs and future developments to achieve compliance with legislation.
