eNews from the Global Harmonization Initiative |
|
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the December issue of GHI Matters. Not least, because despite the Covid-19 pandemic, many GHI officers and members have been active, which you may conclude
from the contents of this issue.
What you will not see in this issue but you may read in the next issue is about the progress of several working groups, including the WG Food Safety in Relation to Religious Dietary Laws; the WG Ethics in Food Safety Practices; WG Food Microbiology and the WG Global Incident Alert Networks. This is a promise.
This year has been a sad year, because many of us lost family and friends due to the Covid-19 pandemic and I wish everybody strength to bear the loss. Hopefully all of you will stay out of troubles with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and stay healthy. For many of us December used to be a month of celebration and globally, the coming of 2021 will be celebrated, but certainly not as intensive as usual because of the restrictions resulting from the pandemic. Nevertheless, I wish all readers a happy and prosperous and corona virus free New Year.
Huub Lelieveld.
|
|
|
GHI Consensus Document on Food Irradiation - Czech translation
The GHI Ambassadors in the Czech Republic, Sabolová Monika and Milan Houška, have translated the consensus document on the safety aspects of irradiation of food into the Czech language. To download the translation from the GHI Library, click here. The original English version, authored by Tatiana Koutchma, Larry Keener and Heidi Kotilainen, can be found here.
|
SARS-CoV-2 presentations
In the June issue of GHI Matters the presentation by Lucia Anelich about the relevance of Sars-CoV-2 for the food business, focused on South Africa.
Recently, Franco Pedreschi P., Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and GHI Ambassador in Chile, together with Nuri Gras, Manuel Miranda and Ricardo A. Jacob of the Chilean Food Quality and Safety Agency (ACHIPIA) of the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture produced a video titled "Chile and context of the COVID-19 Pandemic; a look at the food sector" about the relevance of the new coronavirus for the food industry. The video, in the Spanish language, can be downloaded here. The authors have also made a version with English subtitles, which can be downloaded here. GHI has obtained permission to use the video as a basis for a global version in the English language. For this purpose, the WG Food Microbiology has set up a small project team, chaired by Dr. Noor Zafira Noor Hasnan, GHI Ambassador in Malaysia.
|
Recent Presentations
EFFoST* Conference 2020
During the online EFFoST conference, 10-12 November 2020, there was a GHI session "Food security in the nearby future" organised by Abenaa Akyaa Okyere in Ghana. The three presentations addressed topics that were not presented in other sessions during the conference. The presentations can be downloaded from the GHI Library by clicking on the title:
Stefan Jansson, UPSC, Umeå University, Department of Plant Physiology, Umeå, Sweden
Heidi Kotilainen, Global Harmonization Initiative, Working Group Food Preservation Technologies, UK
Abenaa Akyaa Okyere, BNARI, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
* European Federation of Food Science and Technology
CUCCAL 13 Conference 2020
During the 13th SOMEICCA-CUCCAL* conference, usually in Mexico, but this year online, there were two GHI presentations, which may be downloaded from the GHI Library by clicking on the titles:
Tatiana Koutchma, Chair, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Huub Lelieveld. Global Harmonization Initiative, Austria
* Sociedad Mexicana de Inocuidad y Calidad de Alimentos = Mexican Society for Food Safety and Quality - Cultura de Calidad en el Consumo de Alimentos = Culture of Quality in Food Consumption
International Conference on Food Safety and Sanitation, Vietnam, 2020
During this conference the recently appointed GHI Ambassador for Vietnam, Dr. Vuong Bao Thy of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cuu Long, Vietnam, gave an introductory presentation about GHI:
The presentation, in Vietnamese, can be downloaded by clicking on the title.
|
Theater
As announced in the April 2019 issue of GHI Matters, Dr. Yasmine Motarjemi, former Acting Director at the WHO and thereafter head of Global Food Safety, at Nestlé in Switzerland, received from the European Parliament an award for Journalists, Whistleblowers and Defenders of the Right to Information, at a ceremony in Strasbourg, France, on 16 April 2019.
In November this year, there was an amazing one-and-a-half hour opera-singing performance in the Neumarkt Theater in Zürich, based on the opera "Elektra" by Richard Strauss, to a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, with the title "Whistleblowerin / Elektra - Alone in her struggle". A summary of the performance can be downloaded from the GHI Library in both German and English. That the subject receives increasingly attention is important for
GHI's goal: the global availability of safe and wholesome food products for
all consumers. Whistleblowing in the food industry may save lifes.
|
Participation in Projects
To contribute to food safety and security, GHI may participate in projects if it has been ascertained that such participation cannot in any way affect the impartiality of GHI.
Horizon2020 project FOODSAFETY4EU
GHI is a supporting partner of the new Horizon2020 project FOODSAFETY4EU. The project, coordinated by CNR ISPA (Institute of Sciences of Food Production, Italy) starts on the 1st of January 2021 and is running for 3 years. The multi-actor consortium consists of 23 partners from 12 countries and 44 supporting partners.
The main outcome will be a multi-actor platform for food safety system actors and stakeholders to drive the transition of the existing European food safety systems towards a comprehensive and constantly being updated framework. It will enable efficient access to resources and data (such as studies, publications and data on certain topics), and thesharing and exchange of scientific knowledge and contributions through dedicated tools. As such, the platform will aim to enable and support the cooperation and interaction among different actors through the development and implementation of participatory processes in 4 regional hubs and food safety operational labs.
The project will also develop strategies to improve public awareness of food safety and civil society engagement.
Dr. Gerhard Schleining, member of the GHI Board, represents GHI on this project.
|
Articles by members of GHI on food and nutrient safety and security
Food safety issues in fresh produce supply chain with particular reference to sub-Saharan Africa. O. Charles Aworh, Department of Food Technology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Food Control, Online 4 November 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107737
MINI REVIEW ARTICLE: SARS-CoV-2 and Risk to Food Safety. Lucia E. C. M. Anelich, Ryk Lues, Jeffrey M. Farber and Valeria R. Parreira. Front. Nutr., 02 November 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2020.580551
|
Books by GHI and members of GHI on food and nutrient safety and security
Nutraceuticals in Brain Health & Beyond by Dr. Dilip Ghosh, GHI Ambassador in Australia. Published in November this year by Academic Press/Elsevier. Paperback ISBN: 9780128205938
eBook ISBN: 9780128206102.
Several other books are in preparation and will be published in the first half of 2021, they will be announced in the February issue of GHI Matters.
|
Nutrition and health aspects of traditional and ethnic foods in Nordic Countries
Edited by Veslemøy Andersen, Eirin Bar And Gun Wirtanen, is the first volume of the series of 26 books about the topic, covering the entire globe. This volume discusses the nutrition and health aspects of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland as well as Sápmi, also known as Lapland. It is published by Elsevier/Academic Press 2018. ISBN: 978-0-12-809456-3 (eBook) and 9780128094167 (print).
Note that, as with all food science books published by Elsevier, using the code GHI30 gives you a 30% discount.
|
Nutrition and health aspects of traditional and ethnic foods in Western Europe
Edited by Susanne Braun, Christina Zübert, Dimitrios Argyropoulos and Francisco Javier Casado Hebrard
This volume of the 26 volume-large GHI series was published on 15 October 2019 and can be ordered from the website of Elsevier.
Remember to use GHI30 to obtain a 30% discount.
|
Nutrition and health aspects of traditional and ethnic foods in South Asia
Edited by Jamuna Prakash, Viduranga Waisundara and Vishweshwaraiah Prakash
This GHI book of the same series was published on 1 March 2020, it can be ordered now from Elsevier and remember, by using code GHI30, you will receive a 30% discount.
|
Ensuring Global Food Safety - Exploring Global Harmonization.
Edited by Christine Boisrobert, Aleksandra Stjepanovic, Sangsuk Oh and Huub Lelieveld
Elsevier/Academic Press, 2009.
ISBN:
9780123748454 (print) 9780080889306 (eBook)
|
Regulating Safety of Traditional and Ethnic Foods
Edited by Vishweshwaraiah Prakash, Olga Martín-Belloso, Larry Keener, Siân Astley, Susanne Braun, Helena McMahon and Huub Lelieveld
Elsevier/Academic Press, 2015.
ISBN:
9780128006054 (print) 9780128006207 (eBook)
|
|
GHI LEADERSHIP
Dr. h.c. Huub Lelieveld
President, Netherlands
Mr. Larry Keener
Vice-President, USA
Dr. Gerhard Schleining
Treasurer, Austria
Mag. Michaela Pichler
Supervisory Board, Austria
Ms. Nathalie Persson-Andrianasitera
Global Councillor, Sweden
Ms. Adriana Sterian,MSc.
General Secretary, Netherlands
Dr. Vishweshwaraiah Prakash
Member-at-Large, India
Dr. Sangsuk Oh
Member-at-Large, Korea
Dr. Bernd van der Meulen
Member-at-Large, Netherlands
Dr. Joe Mac. Regenstein
Member-at-Large, USA
Dr. Alina-Ioana Gostin
Ambassador Programme Director, UK
Ms. Adriana Sterian, MSc.
Communications Dir.,Netherlands
Ms. Ana Sanhueza Martín, MSc.
Membership Director, Spain
Ms. Nicole Coutrelis
Regulatory Advisor, France
Dr. Bernd van der Meulen
Legal Advisor - Food, Netherlands
Dr. Siân Astley
Editorial Advisor, UK
Mr. Grigori Badalyan
Librarian, Germany
Mr. Gunter Greil
Webmaster, Austria
Dr. Paul Popescu
Newsletter Editor, Romania
Mr. Alex Surugiu
Graphic Designer/Videographer, Netherlands
Dr. Diana Bogueva
Working Group Coordinator, Australia
|
GHI SUPERVISORY BOARD
Mag. Michaela Pichler (Chair)
ICC, Vienna, Austria
Dr. Michael Murkovic
EuCheMS Food Chemistry Division, Graz, Austria
Dr. Pablo Juliano
CSIRO, Werribee, Australia
Dr. V. Balasubramaniam
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Dr. Pingfan Rao
Fuzhou University and Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, Fujian, China
Dr. Jaap Hanekamp
Roosevelt Academy, Tilburg,
The Netherlands
Dr. Sian Astley
EuroFIR, Brussels, Belgium
Dr. Maria Tapia
Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela
Dr. Kwang-Ok Kim
Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
GHI AUDITORS
Dr. Vladimir Kakurinov
Macedonia
Dr. Pablo Juliano
Australia
|
|
ABOUT THE GLOBAL HARMONIZATION INITIATIVE |
|
|
Founded in 2004 as a joint activity of the US-based Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) International Division and the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST), the Global Harmonization Initiative (GHI) is a network of scientific organizations and individual scientists working together to promote harmonization of global food safety regulations and legislation.
GHI has legal non-profit entity status and its charter and constitution are registered in Vienna, Austria as the GHI-Association (ZVR453446383).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
