Veg-i-Trade

Veg-i-Trade: Impact of climate change and globalization on safety of fresh produce – governing a supply chain of uncompromised food sovereignty

Veg-i-Trade will assess the impact of anticipated climate change and globalisation on safety issues concerning fresh produce and derived food products. Research on the mapping of the economic organisation of the fresh produce chain and on the development of control measures for microbiological and chemical risks will be included.

Fresh produce (e.g. leafy vegetables, tomatoes, soft red fruits) is an important part of a healthy diet. Global consumption levels are expected to increase in the future. However, due to recent disease outbreaks and rapid alerts attributed to fresh produce and derived food products, concerns have emerged with regard to food safety. New food safety challenges are posed by climate change and globalisation of trade.

Veg-i-Trade unifies 23 international partners from universities, research institutes, SMEs and large industrial partners. Recommendations concerning good practices and quality assurance in the fresh produce supply chain will be developed and exchanged via international collaboration and capacity building. In parallel, Veg-i-Trade will organise discussion forums on particular aspects of food sovereignty related to the safety of fresh produce.

SCIPROM has accompanied Veg-i-Trade since the proposal preparation and now acts as the project management partner and is strongly involved in the dissemination to a wider public.

The project has started on 1 May 2010 and is running for four years. For more information visit us online on http://www.veg-i-trade.org