Created in September 2024 by #Lely, #Realco, #Kersia and #Sofiproteol, PSF is the first non-profit organization gathering diverse stakeholders all along the food chain, committed to dealing with long term issue on food safety due to climate change and population increase.
At the start of the 21st century, the floods in Valencia (Spain), Storm Boris in Central Europe and the seasonal floods in China and India are all symptomatic of a climate change that is no longer futuristic. At the same time, food-borne disease outbreaks are still a regular occurrence. These include the circulation of the H5N1 virus and infectious diseases such as Campylobacter, Salmonella and Listeria.
In a study published in 2020, the FAO clearly highlighted the complex associations between a number of security risks and climate change. These links can ‘potentially lead to increased risks of foodborne illnesses affecting access to safe and nutritious food for millions of people around the globe”, wrote the Food and Agriculture Organization. Here are a few examples: with global warming, crop pests and pathogens have been moving towards the pole at a rate of 2.7 km/year since 1960. A 1 degree Celsius increase in the weekly ambient temperatures in European countries has resulted in a 5-10% increase in Salmonella cases, according to other researchers.
Overall, foodborne illnesses affect 600 million people per year causing more than 420.000 deaths and its economic burden is approximately 14 billion dollars a year only in the United States.
These figures alone demonstrate the importance of tackling food safety, which is increasingly becoming a public health issue.
This is precisely the objective we have set ourselves at PSF : Pioneering Safe Food is the first non-profit organization gathering diverse stakeholders, in a scientific committee, all along the food chain : world-renowned experts, scientific communities, companies – Ceva, Tergys, Realco, Kersia, Shiyao investment- universities (Queen’s University Belfast, Laval University Food and Agriculture Quebec and the pharmaceutical microbiology at Cardiff University) but also non-governmental organizations, consumers and government authorities, all committed to dealing with long term issue due to climate change and population increase because food safety is everyone’s business.
Our mission is based on three distinct pillars: we want to bring forward new solutions and embrace scientific innovation to anticipate future crises and build sustainable, resilient food safety systems. We also want to field-testand validate new approaches, methods and solutions under real conditions alongside the food chain, involving our members and broader selected partners. Finally, our aim is to disseminate the best available science, knowledge and innovations, including advocacy towards public authorities.
And there has been no shortage of projects since PSF was founded on September 2024. At an event in Paris on 18 December, we were able to unveil a number of our research projects. On the short term, one of these focuses on the control of potentially pandemic respiratory viruses on surfaces and in the air. Last COVID pandemia has shown that agrifood system is strongly affected in such a situation.This program has clear objectives: the disinfection susceptibility of a range of viruses on surfaces in the air, essentially in the food sector (farm, factory and food service), i.e. the core area of PSF. Longer term, we are considering tackling the control of environmental microbial populations. This project will enable PSF to focus on the generation of knowledge relating to the interactions between environmental microbial populations, food pathogens and bio control agents. It will make possible to determine future trends in the way these foods are delivered and the very nature of these foods (plant-based or fermented foods). Other projects are also in the pipeline. All need financial and human resources. That’s why PSF is keen to expand its organisation to other members.
Anyone wishing to be part of a transdisciplinary and committed ecosystem or supporting application-oriented research and solutions development is more than welcome to join.
We need you : join us as member of Pioneering Safe Food
