EU project targets better food risk information for Europeans

Information about food, and especially its risks, flash before our eyes on a daily basis. But how effective and balanced is the information we get? EU-funded researchers believe that enhancing the delivery of information and advice on emerging food risks could help fuel consumer confidence in foods, curb economic losses related to food scares and reduce the number of illnesses linked to foods. The FOODRISC ('Food Risk Communication. Perceptions and communication of food risks/benefits across Europe: development of effective communication strategies') project is working to offer consumers the right information they need about food/risk benefit relationships. Funded under the 'Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology' (KBBE) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to the tune of EUR 2.97 million, FOODRISC is filling the gaps along the food information chain.

FOODRISC, which is coordinated by Professor Patrick Wall of University College Dublin's School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science in Ireland, has pooled the resources of experts in key fields relevant to food risk and benefit communication, namely industry, academia, research institutes. 'Some of the recent "food scares", such as BSE [Bovine spongiform encephalopathy], Dioxin contamination in Belgium and Ireland and the case where milk was contaminated with melamine in China, have undermined consumer confidence in food,' explains Dr Áine McConnon of University College Dublin, FoodRisC project manager. 'With the food industry now being a global manufacturing and distribution business all possible forms of public communication need to be understood and used.'

The FOODRISC consortium is comparing how traditional and social media for news and information is disseminated in the EU, which in turn will lead to the creation of the effective tools the project seeks to give communication on food risks a huge boost. The new FOODRISC website is a step in this direction. More specifically, social media use has ballooned in just a year, with numbers up by 50% in many countries. Facebook, which has taken the world by storm, has more than 570 million registered users, and the number of users of all types of social media currently tops the 1.25 billion mark. Europe has surpassed the US in the personal use of social media.

One of the objectives of the project is to establish a communication toolkit and best practice recommendations that will support organisations across the EU to offer better communication, information and education services to the public. The project partners say the toolkit will help policymakers, food authorities and other end users who seek to develop common approaches to disseminating information to European consumers. Also on the FOODRISC agenda, say the partners, is the description of key configurations of food risk and benefit relationships and the implications for communicators. The consortium will assess how new social media, like Facebook, Twitter and blogs, can be used to provide guidance on how risk communicators can use these media to their advantage. And the partners will illustrate how consumers can attain, interpret and use information to support the target populations. Kicked off earlier this year and scheduled to end in 2013, FOODRISC brings together experts from Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK.

News source: CORDIS link: article

Students tackle tricky topics in 2WAYS project

Youngsters across Europe have been grappling with some of the life sciences' trickiest ethical dilemmas thanks to the EU-funded 2WAYS ('Two ways for communicating European research about life sciences with science festivals and science centres/museums, science parliaments impact survey') project. 2WAYS received almost EUR 1 million from the Science in Society programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Over the past two years, the 2WAYS team has organised 29 'science parliaments' in 29 cities in 17 countries. Each event lasted up to 2 days and attracted between 50 and 100 students aged from 17 to 19. So how did these events work?

'All these science parliaments had four committees,' explains project coordinator Peter Rebernik of the European Science Events Association (EUSCEA) in Austria. 'These committees were like in a normal parliament - they invited experts, discussed their issues and voted on resolutions. These resolutions came to the plenary session and the plenary session then finalised these resolutions.' In early December, delegates from these events gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, for the first-ever young European Science Parliament. There, a summary of the resolutions from the earlier events was handed over to European Parliament Vice-President and German Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Silvana Koch-Mehrin, who is also involved in the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA).

The resolutions summarise the youngsters' thinking on four major issues in the life sciences: the use of embryonic stem cells, the use of the results of genetic tests, the implications of the discovery of a gene for aggressiveness, and the threats and opportunities of DNA analysis. On stem cells, most parliaments came out in favour of using stem cells derived from in vitro fertilisation (IVF), albeit with certain restrictions. Meanwhile, youngsters also want more research on adult stem cells to replace embryonic stem cells and do away with the need to destroy embryos. The discussions, which forced the students to debate when human life begins, were often lively.

'There was a nice discussion in the European Parliament when one committee said, "these 50 cells in the beginning, it's not really a human life, you can do anything with them",' recalls Dr Rebernik. 'Then somebody else stood up and said: "Hey, this is human life already, you can't do anything".'
Today, genetic tests exist to determine an individual's risk of developing over 500 diseases. Most youngsters recognised that these tests could ultimately prove useful as part of efforts to prevent and treat diseases, but expressed concern that if the results are not fully confidential, they could be abused by insurance companies and employers. The resolutions also express concern regarding the psychological impacts of knowing that one faces a greater risk of a potentially deadly disease.

The discussions on the so-called 'aggressiveness gene', which lowers an individual's threshold for violence, were also interesting. Most resolutions recognise that an individual's personality is a combination of both genes and the environment. Many note that individuals with this gene could face discrimination. Others fear that the gene could be used as an excuse by criminals seeking a lower sentence. However, others suggest that it could be used not to reduce the level of punishment but to tailor rehabilitation efforts. An impact study of the parliaments revealed that the youngsters learnt a lot from their experience and that they felt more encouraged to ask questions and engage in discussions.

The 2WAYS project is now drawing to a close. However, many of the cities involved plan to organise further science parliaments themselves. Furthermore, Dr Rebernik reports that he hopes to have a young European science parliament at the European Parliament every two years. 'It looks like we can do this,' he tells CORDIS News. 

News source: CORDIS link: article

Tourists 'visit' the Greek Island of Santorini without leaving home

Tourists will no longer have to leave the comfort of their armchair to experience the splendours of the Mediterranean islands thanks to an EU-funded project that has created software providing three-dimensional (3D) versions of sandy beaches, sleepy village squares and cosy local hotels. Funding for the MEDISOLAE-3D project came from the European Commission's Interreg/Archimed and eContent programmes, with overall support totalling EUR 2.7 million.

Software experts from Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus and Malta have created 3D versions of the beautiful Mediterranean islands. They believe their state-of-the-art technology will help transform the tourism sector.

MEDISOLAE-3D users will be able to 'fly over' Mediterranean islands and swoop down when something catches their attention; they could 'land' on a beach or in a village square, and move about to get a feel for the shops, restaurants and attractions. They could even make purchases, reserve tables and book hotels. Perhaps the funkiest aspect of this software is that if users don't like where they have landed, they simply 'swoop up into the air again' and try somewhere else - all without taking their eyes off their computer screen.

The project combines software designed for aircraft landing simulations with orthophotography and satellite images of the islands, as well as public data like digital terrain models, maps and tourist services to create the portal to the 3D island experience. Updates from a range of public and private databases will be made automatically, offering users only the most up-to-date information and enabling them to enjoy their virtual stay as much as possible.

News source: Cordis link: article