UK invests £1.6 M into new food safety network

In the UK, estimates indicate there are 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness a year

Food poisoning is a major health challenge that costs the UK up to £9 billion each year. To help tackle the problem, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have invested £1.6 million into a new Food Safety Network, hosted by the Quadram Institute.

The UK Food Safety Network will connect food industry, food and health policymakers and academia to collaboratively pursue shared research priorities that will protect the UK from foodborne hazards. The Network will serve as an innovation hub to coordinate and fund cross-sectoral research and training activities that address current and emerging challenges.

The Network’s objectives are to assemble a community of UK food producers, food policy makers and scientific researchers who collectively can take robust actions toward improving food safety; and identify areas of research need and opportunity that, in the view of food stakeholders and network members, will have meaningful impacts on UK food safety.

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