Report from the first international MoniQA conference: increasing trust in rapid analysis for food quality and safety

Abstract

The first international MoniQA conference was held in Rome, Italy (8–10 October 2008) and brought together an audience of more than 200 food safety scientists, socioeconomists, regulators, and industry and trade representatives as well as media correspondents. The participants had the opportunity to discuss the most recent challenges in avoiding and controlling unwanted substances in the food production chain as well as to listen to the newest developments and innovations in rapid and reliable analysis of food contaminants. Speakers included representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Commission as well as renowned experts on food safety issues from around the world. The conference was organized by Italian National Institute of Research in Food and Nutrition (INRAN) and International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) on behalf of MoniQA. ICC is also the coordinator of the MoniQA project. The conference was divided into sessions based on the MoniQA working groups, namely: Food Authenticity; Food Additives; Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins; Food Allergens; Chemical Contaminants; Microbiological Contaminants; and Horizontal Issues.