Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, director of chemical research and risk assessment at Matís, has recently taken part in a European project where a cluster of knowledge was formed on the analysis of risk and benefits in food consumption.
Representatives from seven European countries took part in the project, which is a so-called SAFEFOODERA project, which was in most cases funded by the research funds of the countries in question. Despite the fact that such a grant was not received in Iceland, Matís decided to nevertheless participate in the project with its own funding.
In order to be able to assess the benefits and / or disadvantages of consuming certain types of food, it must be possible to assess their direct impact on human health. Such an assessment can only be made through a risk and benefit analysis. Risk and benefit analysis is a relatively new field of research and the development of methods is nearing completion in the field of food.
Helga says that the aim of this project was to utilize knowledge and experience in risk and benefit analysis that has been built up in other fields of study, such as medicine and pharmacology, microbiology, environmental sciences, sociology and economics, and to adapt the methods to food and nutrition. .
"An analysis like this is useful, among other things, for the administration in advising on food consumption and it focuses the spotlight on both aspects, ie. risks and benefits. This is very important because in many cases the benefits of consuming food outweigh the risk factors. In this European project, we have actually been assessing where we have come in the field of food and nutrition and whether it is possible to use knowledge from other fields of study to develop and improve risk and benefit analysis in the field of food and nutrition, "says Helga en The work of the group has been completed and the results will be published in the January issue of 2012 in the scientific journal "Food and Chemical Toxicology". In addition, the results can be accessed at www.sciencedirect.com.
For further information Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir.