PROTECT ITN Final Conference

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Title: Food Sustainability & Safety in a Changing Climate

PROTECT & TRANSIT Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks Symposium

Date: 10th November 2022

Location: Room 019C, UCD Student Village, Dublin, Ireland

Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/food-sustainability-and-safety-in-a-changing-climate-tickets-406138610517

Zoom Registration Link for Livestream: https://ucd-ie.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LbEuWnysRP6TMhJSJvaNGg

UCD Campus Map: https://twitter.com/PROTECT_ITN/status/1590319719953096704

Agenda:

08.30 – 09.15: Registration/Opening
08.30 – 09.00: Registration
09.00 – 09.15: Welcome and Opening (Prof Enda Cummins & Prof. Dolores O’Riordan, Director, UCD Institute Of Food & Health, Vice-President for Global Engagement)
09.15 – 10.45: Session 1: Food Technologies & Quantitative Risk Assessment
Chair: Dr Jeanne-Marie Membré (INRAE, Oniris, France)  

Rhea Chhaya (PROTECT ESR1, University College Dublin): “Human health risk assessment of aflatoxin M1 from the European dairy sector”
Rodney Feliciano (PROTECT ESR4, INRAE Oniris): “Towards a Climate Change-Responsive Dairy Supply Chain: from data analysis, model developments to sustainable food safety mitigation strategies”
Theocharia Tsagkaropoulou (TRANSIT ESR1, University of Reading): ”Heterogeneity of L. monocytogenes and E. coli strains in resistance to High Hydrostatic Pressure”
10.45 – 11.15: Break/Poster Presentation/Networking
11.15 – 12.00: Key Note Speaker 1 – Moez Sanaa (World Health Organisation) “Sustainable and healthy diet for all”
Chair: Prof Vasilis Valdramidis
12.00 – 13.00: Session 2: Modelling the Dynamics of Microbial Change & Technology Optimization
Chair: Assoc Prof Heidy den Besten  

Styliani Roufou (PROTECT ESR2, University of Malta): “Quantitative microbial dynamics related to the dairy industry under climatic stress conditions”
Lydia Katsini (PROTECT ESR3, KU Leuven): “Quantifying microbial food safety risks due to climate change”
13.00 – 14.00 : Lunch/Poster Presentation/Networking
14.00 – 15.00: Session 2 continued: Modelling the Dynamics of Microbial Change & Technology Optimization
Chair: Assoc Prof Heidy den Besten  

Ourania Misiou (PROTECT ESR5, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki): “Predictive modelling tools to evaluate the effect of climate change on food spoilage”
Yijiao Yao (TRANSIT ESR8, INP): “Optimization and upscaling of non-thermal atmospheric plasma for decontamination of (a)biotic surfaces”
15.00 – 15.45: Key Note Speaker 2 – Kemal Aganovic (DIL German Institute of Food Technologies) “The Present & Future of Novel Processing Technologies”
Chair: Assoc Prof Heidy den Besten
15.45 – 17.15: Session 3: Food Chain Sustainability & Tools for Decontamination Efficiency
Chair: Prof Almudena Hospido  

Maro Malliaroudaki (PROTECT ESR6, University of Nottingham): “Shaping the future of milk manufacturing and supply using energy consumption models”
Paola Guzmán Luna (PROTECT ESR7, University of Santiago de Compostela): “Modelling the effect of climate change on the current and future environmental sustainability of the European dairy sector”
Georgios Pampoukis (TRANSIT ESR10, Wageningen University): “Meta-analysis on decontamination efficacy of non-thermal plasma (NTP)”
17.15 – 18.15: Session 4: Decision Support Systems (DSS) & Consumer Perception
Chair: Assoc Prof Kimon Andreas Karatzas  

Gopaiah Talari (PROTECT ESR8, Creme Global): “Microbial and chemical Risk assessment of dairy products with Big Data and web-based Decision Support Systems (DSS) under climate change scenarios”
Aline Silva (TRANSIT ESR9, Sense Test): “Assessment of consumer trust and risk perception towards sustainable innovative food processing technologies.”
18.15 – 18.30: Closing Remarks (Prof Enda Cummins)

PROTECT Industrial Secondments – Ourania Misiou

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One of the main pillars of ITN programmes is the industrial secondment of Early-Stage Researchers (ESR) at different universities and industrial partners. Thus, all ESRs participating in this project had the opportunity to move abroad and join their industrial partners at least for a few months.


The industrial partners participating in the PROTECT project were selected and allocated based on their expertise to support ESRs with their research. I had the honour to join the Nestle Research Centre located in Lausanne, Switzerland for almost 9 months during my PhD. Apart from the scientific opportunities and the research performed at Nestle, this secondment taught me important lessons regarding the industrial working place, the soft skills needed to achieve my career goals, as well as combining scientific interests with business needs.


During my secondment at Nestle I learnt how to communicate scientific research to non-scientific and multidisciplinary audiences whilst successfully translating science into business. During my staying in Nestle, my supervisors and managers motivated and supported me in implementing my scientific work in real day-to-day business. Moreover, I grabbed the chance to meet new colleagues and expand my network outside the PROTECT project, which I truly believe will help me boost my career in years to come. Last but not least, it was a privilege working with all these amazing scientists. On a personal note, I was able to make life-long friends.

World Food Safety Day 2022 – Lydia Katsini

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Today is the 2022 World Food Safety Day which includes several celebratory events and actions around the world such as the panel discussion under the theme “Safer food, better health”, hosted by the WHO, FAO, and the Codex Secretariat. This highlights the link between food safety and public health, a top priority of our society. The second half of the event is dedicated to the role of different players in ensuring sustainable food production and consumption of safe foods in different settings by improving health outcomes.

This is connected with another priority of our society: climate change action, which is related to the transformation towards sustainable food production as well as the impact of climate change on the food system that may place food safety at risk. Given the above, it is clear that the transition of the food system to achieve maximal sustainability is governed by a multitude of constraints, one of which is ensuring food safety. Current demands include ensuring animal welfare and highly nutritious food etc.

Let this day be food for thought on how we aim to form a resilient food system. Looking into one direction of action might compromise the entire system’s function. This means that a holistic approach is necessary, such as the One Health Triad formed from the people, animals, and environment. Following this example, different pillars for the transition of the food system can be identified.

PROTECT Communication, Education and Outreach Activities at Primary and Secondary Schools in India – Gopi Talari and Rhea Chhaya

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As part of the PROTECT Communication, Education and Outreach program, all the Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) are expected to engage in Communication, Education and Outreach activities. These outreach activities are meant to address key challenges of “climate change” and bring social awareness to the general public, especially in school children.

We, ESRs Gopi Talari and Rhea Chhaya decided to conduct two outreach activities in India during our annual leave at two schools, one at a primary school (3rd grade to 7th grade: aged 9 to 13 years) and another at a secondary school (8th to 10th grade: aged 14 to 16 years). Both took place in the Southern part of India, Laxmipuram village, East Godavari district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. 

We planned to give a research presentation followed by some fun activities to have a better understanding of how impactful our talk was and the general awareness of the students. As the school children are from non-English backgrounds, talks were given in the regional state language, “Telugu”. The majority of the students were interested in expressing their thoughts in drawing and some in writing. So, we conducted a drawing and essay writing competition on the topic of “Causes of Climate Change and its Impact on the Environment”. 

The day before the event, ESR Gopi visited the schools and got approval to conduct the event in the afternoon session. Drawing and essay writing topics were given to the students and a motivational speech to encourage participation in the competition.

On the day of the event at each school, all the students from the school participated in drawing and essay competitions. Followed by a research presentation by both the ESRs, Rhea gave a talk on “Climate Change Impacts on Food Safety” and thanked the participants for taking part in the day’s activities via Zoom and Gopi translated it for the primary school kids. The children were extremely engaged and wrote very well by addressing the challenges and their role as students to combat this climate change issue. They also drew amazing drawings. One particular stand out was a very talented girl from the 4th standard who had a vocal and hearing impairment who expressed her views with wonderful drawings. Three of the best were selected from each school for both competitions and awarded prizes. It was hard to select the winners among all the students as everyone did exceedingly well. We gave consolation prizes to encourage participation along with appreciation certificates. The district education officer visited the school and appreciated the event, it was a great success with the help of the school’s headmasters, administration and parents’ support. 

The Outreach activities got picked up by the Andhra Pradesh state local newspaper.