[UK] Food Standards Agency – Forward Evidence Plan 2014

The [UK] Food Standards Agency (FSA) has provided a document that summarises the topic areas in which the Agency is considering taking forward new science and evidence activities, including, where necessary, issuing requests for science and evidence proposals in financial year 2014/2015. These will deliver the evidence it needs to support its Strategic Plan 2010 –15 (and possible future needs), published in December 2009 and updated in March 2011.

This Forward Plan has been developed as part of the FSA’s business planning and builds on the input received in developing the Strategic Plan and the Science and Evidence Strategy. The evidence needs have been prioritised in line with the process described in the Science and Evidence Strategy, and for the following purposes:  

• To inform the FSA’s stakeholders and help identify whether they are aware of any work either completed or on-going in these areas which should be taken into account to help focus the final requirements before issue;

• To draw to the attention of other funders to see if there are areas on which the Agency could work more collaboratively on these or future needs;

• To provide early notice of possible tender opportunities to potential contractors, to stimulate interest; and

• To also seek comments and suggestions on how best to progress some of the strategic science challenges facing the FSA.

It should be noted that this forward plan is subject to budgetary confirmation and the possibility that some of the research areas may be displaced by priority evidence needs emerging within the year. It is also possible that some areas will be combined for tendering where there are procurement efficiencies identified. However, the publication of this forward plan does not commit the Agency to awarding contracts for any or all of the opportunities listed.

The proposed activities include the following, grouped into broad subject groupings.

Food Safety

Hygiene and Microbiology

• Campylobacter

  • A desk study to propose novel engineering solutions that will limit Campylobacter contamination during chicken processing whilst maintaining line speeds

  • A study of the attachment of Campylobacter to chicken surfaces with the aim of developing ways to reduce contamination during processing

  • Analysis of consumer purchasing patterns for risk factors for Campylobacter and other foodborne pathogens

  • Aspects of human behaviour that influence consistent adherence to good hygiene practice during poultry production and processing

  • Campylobacter research to address priorities identified under the Joint Research Strategy

  • Factors affecting variations in Campylobacter disease rates in Scotland

  • Desk study to ascertain what evidence is available for antimicrobial treatments to remove surface contamination against the requirements in the guidance document produced by EFSA

  • Quantifying the extent of Campylobacter contamination in the kitchen environment during the handling of poultry meat

  • Safe cooking of Poultry in the domestic kitchen

• Listeria

• Promotion of new Listeria food safety guidance for hospitals, nursing homes, and similar healthcare settings

• Heat stability of Hepatitis A and E viruses in vitro and in relevant food matrices

• Decontamination of curry leaves intended for use in ready to eat foods

• Foodborne disease in the home

• Application of whole genome sequencing to fully characterise enteroaggregative E.coli isolates from the IID1 and IID2 studies

• Review of food safety training for care workers across Scotland

• Viruses

• Cross-cutting

• FDS other pathogens

• Food hygiene policy

Chemical Safety

• Inorganic contaminants

  • UK total diet study of metals and other elements (+ acrylamide in selected categories)

• Risk assessment

• Further characterisation of the combined effects of genotoxic chemicals found in food

• Desk based study on potential alternatives for permitted preservatives

• Desk-based study on bacteriophages in foods

• Estimation of intake levels for novel food ingredients

• Workshop on Adult Food Allergy 2014

• EAT UP: Determining the optimal infant feeding regime

• Food Intolerance Workshop 2014

• Additives

• Novel and emerging technology

• Food allergy and intolerance

Dietary Health and Nutrition

• Vitamin D standardisation project: New version

• Testing and validating the use of INTAKE24 in a sample of young people and adults living in Scotland

• Retail food promotions

Effective Risk-based Enforcement and Compliance

• A metagenomics tool for determination of origin

• Development of proteomics method for detection of horsemeat in heavily processed foods

• Facilitating Compliance Programme

• Food Hygiene rating Scheme (FHRS) research package 2014-15 and 2015-16

• Risk and impact of internet selling of food

• Risk assessment of food establishments

Cross-cutting / Strategic Work

• Social science

  • Agency co-funding of social science research

• Horizon scanning

  • Developing FSA specific quality or disability adjusted life year measures for food safety risks (Strand 2)

  • Analysis of cost pass-through across the UK food supply chain in response to changes in input costs

Other Ideas Under Development

Hygiene and Microbiology

• Food hygiene

  • Review of the currently available rapid testing methods for detection and quantification of marine biotoxin in shellfish

• FDS other pathogens

• Research on toxoplasma in food and livestock to address ACMSF recommendations

Chemical Safety

• Food allergy and intolerance

  • Adult food allergy program of work

  • Food intolerance program of work

  • PIFA follow-up project

  • Advisor on the conduct and interpretation of analytical flow cytometry

  • Follow up of the LEAP cohort

  • The immunological basis for the persistence of oral tolerance in the LEAP-On cohort

  • The consumption of peanut in early life to prevent tree nut allergies

  • Investigating food allergy in UK ethnic minorities

Dietary Health and Nutrition Program

• Investigating food allergy in UK ethnic minorities

  • Caloriewise

  • Food Poverty

Cross-cutting / Strategic Work

• Emerging risks

  • Global chain analysis

  • Root cause analysis

  • Publicly available specification (PAS) 96 review

• Geographical information systems (GIS) implementation

• Cross-cutting consumer studies

• Modelling consumer willingness to pay for food safety health outcomes

Full details of the [UK]FSA Forward Evidence Plan 2014, including further information on each of the proposed activities, can be found at the following website: http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/evidence-plan-2014.pdf