RESEARCH PROJECT:NEW TESTS on animal feed could protect the public from potentially fatal toxins in food, a Northern Ireland scientist said yesterday.
Meat, milk, seafood and cereals would all be covered if the £4 million (€4.5 million) Europe-wide study is a success, according to Prof Chris Elliott.
The Queen's University academic was speaking after pork was taken off shop shelves this week.
Prof Elliott said: "Queen's's main focus will be on developing highly innovative means of detecting natural toxins, produced by plants and fungi, in a wide range of foods." Known as the "Confidence Project", it will provide long-term solutions to contamination from pesticides, organic pollutants, heavy metals and other substances.
Mr Elliott added: "The presence of chemical contaminants in food is a major concern for both European governments and consumers, as seen with the recent pork scare across Ireland in recent days. Thankfully . . . chemical contaminants in food are fatal in only a small number of cases. However, the true effects of long-term exposure to these toxins are far from clear and may present significant heath risks."
He said the regulatory authorities and the food industries spent large amounts to monitor and control the safety of both food products and animal feed.
"This monitoring often uses expensive methods that can only detect one specific chemical, so there is an urgent need for replacement of current methods by validated screening tools, which are simple, inexpensive and rapid and are able to detect as many chemical contaminants in parallel as possible," he said.
A Northern Ireland oil recycling facility is being investigated by the environment agency as part of the investigation into the contaminated pork scare. - (PA)
