Technologies to Address Risk Assessment, Food Safety and Public Health in Food Production Chain

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About this Research Topic

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Background

The access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food is a basic human right. To ensure this, governments should create and support the effective and efficient prevention and control strategies along the food production chain. This should be an integrated approach, from farm-to-fork, backed up with risk assessment, risk-based food safety management and risk communication on major public health hazards towards consumers. The rapid development of new technologies for detection of food safety hazards and its control, together with the introduction of digital innovations in food production mark the fourth industrial revolution. In light of food security needs and current global challenges, such as increased population and urbanization; international livestock and food trade; climate change; decrease of arable land and food waste, there is a strong need to transform agri-food systems. Such transformation should enable more climate resilient and sustainable food value chain.

Increase of global food trade over the last decade and interruptions to the food chain supply during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed many shortcomings in food control systems, associated with food-borne outbreaks and food recalls, thus jeopardizing public health, disrupting the markets and impacting national economies. Therefore, a need for novel and transformed food systems which consider food production chains from a holistic point of view is required, supported by highly effective food control through the application of technologies for data collection, as well as rapid and accurate detection of food-borne pathogens.

This Research Topic provides the opportunity for researchers interested in food systems transformation and food chain sustainability in connection with detection, prevention and control of microbial food safety hazards of public health importance in all modules within food production chain. The interrelation between soil, plant and animal health and food processing, distribution and consumption within One Health concept is encouraged. The focus is given to solutions for integrated food chain management based on novel technologies and strategies related to detection and management of food borne hazards, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR). As well as the application of digital solutions for data collection and novel technologies used for microbial source tracking within the food production chain, and state-of-the-art food safety interventions.

The scope of the Research Topic encompasses all food chain modules from farm to fork in connection with microbial contamination at multiple points along the food production chain. The key determinants are the usage of such technologies to facilitate transformation of food systems to become more resilient, sustainable and capable to enable sufficient quantities of safe and nutritious food. Also, we encourage novel solutions for integrated and risk-based food safety management system which will support public health protection. Different types of manuscripts are accepted for submission, as follows: Original Research, Review, Mini Review and Methods.

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Keywords: systems approach, technology, risk assessment, food safety, public health, food industry, food production, foodborne pathogens, one health

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