Professor Jozsef Baranyi
Jozsef Baranyi will give a public lecture entitled The Complexity of the International Food Trade Network on Friday 18th SeptemberTime: 13:00
Venue: United Nations Association, Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich NR2 1EW
Abstract:
With demand for food to increase by 50% by 2030, the current global food distribution system compromises food tracebility, which has an impact on its chemical and microbiological safety.
During a food poisoning outbreak, the first and most important task is to identify the origin of the contamination. Delays in this task can have severe consequences for the health of the population and incur social, political and economical damages with international repercussions. However, the International agro-Food Trade Network (IFTN) is less and less suitable to track the origin of food products. A case in point was the consequences of the three weeks delay in identifying the origin of the E. coli contamination in Germany in June 2011.
An interdisciplinary approach is needed to better understand the IFTN. Such an approach is entirely within the means of science and technology, if supported by detailed and systematic data to monitor and control food flows. The issue no longer affecting just single countries, but the global livelihood of the human population. International organisations, such as the United Nations and the European Union, are essential to the efforts to collect and monitor data on the food trade networks.
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