The European Commission has earmarked €166m in funding for a range of projects under the 'food quality and safety' priority of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). Thirty-six projects have the stamp of approval, unveiled this week by the Commission.
A number of projects selected for funding identify and assess potential health risks associated with food processing methods. The focus of one project in particular is on the recently discovered health risks associated with hazardous compounds in heat-treated carbohydrate-rich foods, where substantial amounts of acrylamide and similar compounds can be formed.
In order to assess the potential risks, the project will explore cooking and processing methods in industry and households with the aim of controlling and minimising the formation of hazardous compounds. Compounds such as acrylamide, unsaturated carbonyl compounds and furans, formed during heating, will go under the microscope.
Two projects - a concerted action (CA) and a specific targeted research project (STREP) - will tackle the issue of preventing human degenerative diseases, focusing specifically on the influence of nutrition and lifestyle on healthy ageing.
The first project aims to improve the understanding of how diet can promote healthy ageing. It is hoped that by coordinating research in this area, the project will help improve quality of life of the elderly; reduce public health costs through the prevention of nutrition-related diseases; and encourage the development of nutritionally-balanced food products specially designed for the elderly.
The second project will study the nutritional impact of zinc, an area where no focused research has been conducted thus far. Zinc is known to be a beneficial nutrient that controls the development and function of the immune cells, and helps to maintain genomic integrity and stability.
However, during ageing, the intake of zinc decreases due to inadequate diet and intestinal malabsorption, causing frailty, general disability and increased incidence of age-related degenerative diseases such as cancer and atherosclerosis.
Zinc deficiency in the elderly will be evaluated and the results will form a rationale for the promotion of healthy ageing through a zinc supplementation, as well as the development of new zinc related anti-ageing drugs.
In addition to assuring health and well-being of European citizens through a better understanding of the influence of food intake and environmental factors on human health, the first set of projects also pays particular attention to improving animal welfare.
In this context, one Integrated Project has been selected to develop robust on-farm welfare assessment methodologies, together with information frameworks and an array of targeted welfare improvements. The Commission hopes that by establishing a better dialogue between the farmers, consumers and scientists, production methods will improve and animal welfare, as well as food quality, will be respected.