Funding directed at new foods and processing techniques

The Commission also announced a series of new projects under a programme to increase research and development in the food sector. The funding is part of a European Commission policy to encourage more research into new foods and processing techniques. Low spending on research and development by the EU's food industry has been identified as a drawback to the sector's competitiveness.

Even though the amount spent on R&D in the EU rose by 20 per cent between 1997 and 2001, it accounted only for 0.24 per cent of output in 2001, far beyond the average of 0.35 per cent of its main competitors, according to figures from the EU's food and drink industry association.

Some of the new funding Money from the European Commission will fund a two-year project investigating how best to increase food innovation within the EU and drive competitiveness.

The newly-created Food Innovation Network Europe (FINE) will target Europe's "food clusters". These are East Netherlands (Food Valley), Scotland, Flanders (Belgium), Rogaland (Norway), Wielkopolska (Poland), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Castilla León (Spain) and Oresund (Denmark and Sweden).

The project will take into account the regional flavour of each area. As part of the project the East Netherlands Development Agency has created a pilot network in the Netherlands to help scientists share their findings.

During the first year, FINE will will concentrate on building the network of researchers and companies.

The money will come out of a pot of about €685 million set aside to fund food and drink industry projects. Coordinating cross -border scientific and legislative co-operation by using digital networks is one of the broad projects areas targeted by the funing.

Among the other projects announced this month is one to help improve quality and safety and reduce costs for organic food producers. The research will look at the production systems in place for organic tomatoes, lettuce, apples, wheat, pork, dairy and poultry.

Scientists will also research the impact of organic foods on nutritional, sensory, microbiological and toxicological quality and safety. The project will examine differences in production systems that affect nutritional value, taste and food safety.

Another project delves into the reported decline in human fertility which could be linked to exposure to environmental chemicals. Scientists will try to determine whether pharmaceutical products are present in food and whether they affect human fertility.

Another project has received funds to examine processes and technologies for recycling organic waste for value-added uses in the food chain.

Money will also be directed at studying the health benefits of eating seafood. Studies of traceability systems will be assessed as a means of giving companies and regulators information about seafood products along the supply chaing.

Money will also go to address the issue of how consumer confidence in consumer protection and risk analysis can be restored and strengthened. The proposed research attempts to improve current risk analysis practices for foods produced by different breeding approaches and production practices.

The Commission has directed funding to integrate European scientific research on grain legumes. Scientists will example feed and food quality and safety and genetically modified organisms.

Funding has been directed at integrating research by veterinary, medical and food scientists research on the prevention and control of zoonoses, including food borne diseases.

A project called Cascade will research the effects of chemical residues on human health.