Dissemination Archives

QALIBRA Final report from the cluster activities

Post author By admin
Post date 01/12/2009

Published:

01/12/2009

Authors:

Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, Björn Þorgilsson

Supported by:

European Commission, Matís, FERA, RIVM, WU, Upatras, Altagra, INRB IP / IPIMAR

QALIBRA Final report from the cluster activities

This project report describes a joint meeting of two European projects called QALIBRA and BENERIS. The meeting was held in Budapest, Hungary, on 10 and 11 June 2009. Both projects fall under Priority 5, Food Quality & Safety in the 6th EU Research Program and share some work components.

The purpose of the meeting was:

1) Presentation of the main results of both projects

2) Work on improvements to the joint presentation plan of the projects

3) Comments and proposals of the reference advisory committee of the projects on the work and the continuation

QALIBRA, or “Quality of Life - Integarted Benefit and Risk Analysis. Web-based tool for assessing food safety and health benefits, ”abbreviated QALIBRA (Heilsuvogin in Icelandic), is a three-and-a-half-year project led by Matís. The project manager is Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, department manager at Matís. The aim of the QALIBRA project is to develop quantitative methods to assess both the positive and negative effects of food ingredients on human health. The goal is to present these methods in a computer program that will be open and accessible to all stakeholders on the World Wide Web. The aim of the BENERIS project is to create a methodology for dealing with complex benefit-risk situations, and then use them to assess the benefits / risks that certain types of food can bring. The first type of food that will be used in the development of this methodology is seafood. This report describes the discussions and the main conclusions of the meeting.

This report is a summary of the 3rd and final Cluster meeting of the QALIBRA and the BENERIS projects in Budapest, Hungary, June 10-11th, 2009. Both projects are funded by the EC´s 6th framework program, and have the same contract start dates and a common workpackage (WP6) for cluster activities. The projects started on April 1st 2006 and the cluster activities will run until October 2009, or for 42 months. This report contains results of the discussions that took place and the actions defined, while the overheads presented during the meeting are compiled in an Annex to the report. The overall objectives of QALIBRA are to develop a suite of quantitative methods for assessing and integrating beneficial and adverse effects of foods, and make them available to stakeholders as web-based software for assessing and communicating net health impacts. The methods and tools developed by QALIBRA will be tested in two case studies on oily fish and functional food. The overall objective of BENERIS is to create a framework for handling complicated benefit-risk situations, and apply it for analysis of the benefits and risks of certain foods. The first food commodity to be used in the development of the methodology is fish.

The objectives of the Cluster meeting were:

1) Dissemination and sharing of information of the main findings of the different parts of both projects

2) Refining the joint dissemination plan

3) Obtain feedback and advice from the Qalibra / Beneris Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP)

This report contains results of the discussions that took place and the actions defined.

Report closed until 01.01.2012

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QALIBRA Dissemination material for first end-user workshop

Post author By admin
Post date 01/12/2009

Published:

01/12/2009

Authors:

Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, Jeljer Hoekstra, Marco Zeilmaker, Nynke de Jong, Bas Bokkers, Helen Owen, Andy Hart, Lynn Frewer, Nikos Avouris

Supported by:

European Commission Matís, FERA, RIVM, WU, Upatras, Altagra, INRB IP / IPIMAR

QALIBRA Dissemination material for first end-user workshop

This project report contains promotional materials and teaching materials used in the first stakeholder seminar to present the results and programs developed in the European QALIBRA project. During this course, participants were introduced to and taught a program developed in QALIBRA to assess the risks and benefits of food consumption, as well as the opportunity to try out the program themselves. The course was held on 9-10 September 2009 in Budapest, Hungary. Matís organized and directed the course and also participated in presentations and teaching together with other participants (partners) in the European project QALIBRA There were 31 participants in the course and they came from various stakeholders, including food regulators, health sector, food companies and universities across Europe. Participants submitted an evaluation of the course after that and were generally very pleased with how successful it was and considered the QALIBRA program to assess the risks and benefits of food consumption to offer great potential, as well as pointing out ways to improve it, but aiming for it that the program will be accessible to stakeholders on the World Wide Web when the project is completed.

This report contains the dissemination materials that were used at the first enduser workshop of the QALIBRA project, 9-10 September 2009. These materials are also intended for use in further training activities which may be organized after the end of the Qalibra project. The overall objectives of QALIBRA are to develop a suite of quantitative methods for assessing and integrating beneficial and adverse effects of foods, and make them available to stakeholders as web-based software for assessing and communicating net health impacts. Dissemination of, information about complex systems, such as the integrated assessment methodologies being developed in the Qalibra project, to end-users and stakeholders can be difficult. Similarly, knowledge transfer to potential endusers also represents a challenge. In QALIBRA, end-user uptake is promoted by a systematic program of dissemination activities adapted to the needs of all stakeholders, and by the development of targeted, tested materials and programs that allow use of the system by technical end-users during and after completion of the Qalibra project. To promote end-user uptake of the web-based software developed in QALIBRA, a workshop format is used. This report contains the material used at the first end-user workshop, which was carried out with project partners and 31 prospective end-users from food authorities, food companies and academia from 12 different Member States and 3 Associated States. A post-workshop feedback survey showed a very positive response by the participants, and was also useful in identifying areas for further improvement of the Qalibra tool in the final months of the project.

Report closed until 01.01.2012