Tracking pesticides in food using high-resolution mass spectrometry: targeted and non-targeted approaches

Funding: National Research Agency, as part of the Young Researchers Programme

The main objectives are to:

• demonstrate the relevance of liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) for detecting pesticides in food, so as to not overlook pesticide misuse, emerging pesticides, or malevolent acts, and thereby improve food safety, in a context where the exposome (all exposures over a lifetime) is becoming more and more important;
• offer the capacity to conduct retrospective analyses;
• develop non-targeted strategies to explain food poisoning outbreaks;
• participate in the sharing of this technology and related approaches with surveillance laboratories.

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One Health Harmonisation of Protocols for the Detection of Foodborne Pathogens and AMR Determinants

Funding: One Health EJP           

The objective is to build the European Union's capacities in terms of the interoperability of laboratories and the construction of interfaces between the areas of animal health, food and human health. Gaps and needs will be analysed, based on current knowledge, to identify and classify the most important fields for the development and implementation of harmonised protocols in all these sectors using a “One Health” approach.

ANSES will contribute to:

• developing an “OHLabCap” comparative analysis instrument by surveying One Health laboratory interoperability, capacity and performance across all EU countries and the European Economic Area. This will help identify requirements for developing and implementing harmonised, interoperable protocols for the detection and typing of foodborne pathogens and determinants of antimicrobial resistance;
• improving the European Union's ability to respond to challenges such as foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging threats, through partner-to-partner training and practical workshops, following the OHLabCap survey, once harmonised protocols have been developed.

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Cross-sectoral framework for quality assurance resources for countries in the European Union

Funding:  One Health EJP

The aim of this project is to strengthen collaborative efforts between various sectors: animal health, food safety, and public health.

These objectives are being achieved through the creation and development of harmonised systems, the organisation of proficiency tests, and the sharing and management of collections of bacteria and “EUROpanelOH” reference materials. These collections will be made visible and accessible via the creation of a web platform ensuring their sustainability and the viability of the data used in risk assessments.

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European programme for the establishment of validated procedures for the detection and identification of biological toxins            

Funding: European Horizon 2020 programme

Recent incidents in Europe and worldwide have threatened civil society through the attempted use of biological toxins, thereby showing that increased vigilance and adequate preparation are necessary in a world facing growing risks. Previous studies showed that there is a lack of robustness in European preparedness for biotoxin incidents. There is a need for standard analytical tools and procedures, reference materials, state-of-the-art training, and the establishment of a European proficiency testing scheme to detect these biotoxins.

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Development and harmonisation of innovative methods for comprehensive analysis of foodborne toxigenic bacteria, i.e. Staphylococci, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens

Funding: One Health EJP

This project aims to propose new approaches, other than next-generating sequencing (NGS), to better characterise and understand the role of three bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens) in outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. In fact, the toxins produced by these three pathogens are the second leading cause of foodborne outbreaks in Europe, according to the reports of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), even though only 10% of cases are declared as “confirmed”. The project is developing tools to detect and quantify bacterial toxins, and the factors involved in their virulence, including those that still remain undetectable (emerging threats).

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Adaptive traits of Listeria monocytogenes to its diverse ecological niches

Funding: One Health EJP

The ListAdapt project aims to decipher the genes and molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptation of the Listeria monocytogenes (LM) bacterium to its various ecological niches: a combination of next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques and phenotypic methods is used to compare data from a large set of strains from the environment, animals, food, and clinical cases in several European countries. The goal is to understand why clonal complexes succeed in one environment and fail in another.

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Funding: National Research Agency           

This project has five main objectives:

• understand the process leading to the fragmentation of plastic debris in marine environments;
• develop a methodology for the sampling and characterisation of the smallest microplastics and nanoplastics;
• obtain data on their distribution in environmental samples (seawater, sediment, marine organisms);
• acquire knowledge on their fate in marine environments and assess their toxicity to marine life;
• assess the transfer of these micro- and nanoplastics in the marine food chain and the potential related risks to consumer health.

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COllaborative Management Platform for detection and Analyses of (Re-)emerging and foodborne outbreaks in Europe

Funding: European Horizon 2020 programme

COMPARE aims to harness rapid advances in molecular technology to improve the identification and prevention of emerging infectious diseases and foodborne outbreaks. To this end, the project has established an analytical framework and a data exchange platform to enable the real-time analysis and interpretation of sequencing data and associated metadata (e.g. clinical and epidemiological data) on the pathogens involved in foodborne illnesses.

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Multi-approach determination of metal-based pesticides in food

Funding: European Horizon 2020 programme-MSCA

Dithiocarbamates (DTCs) are fungicides effective against a broad spectrum of fungi and plant diseases. Despite their significant environmental and food chain impact, the current analytical approaches used provide incomplete information on individual exposure to DTCs. This project developed and validated a method for the accurate and selective determination of DTCs in food using a multi-approach strategy. The impact of different cooking methods on DTC degradation pathways was also investigated. By combining powerful separation techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography with elemental and molecular spectrometry, this project helped acquire deeper knowledge on the presence of DTCs in various foodstuffs and on their degradation mechanisms during food processing. Additionally, the project contributed to the development of a reference method for selective DTC determination in food, thereby having a great impact on scientific research in the area of food quality control at European level.

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Parasite risk assessment with integrated tools in European Union fish production value chains

Funding: 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development - Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy Network

The aim of the Parasite programme was to provide new scientific data and technological developments to detect, monitor and mitigate the impact of zoonotic parasites, primarily Anisakidae but also trematode metacercariae. These are found in European and imported seafood products. Risk assessments of zoonotic parasites ensured significant progress beyond the state of the art. The project improved molecular identification, antigen/allergen characterisation, parasite exposure assessment, detection methods, and treatments. It also carried out a quantitative risk analysis. The main results contributed to enhanced seafood safety and consumer confidence, strengthened the competitiveness of European seafood, and improved EU food safety policies.

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Reducing the environmental impact of hygiene procedures in refrigerated food processing plants through optimal use of air drying

Funding: National Research Agency

The entry of Listeria monocytogenes into food processing plants is inevitable, even when hygiene procedures are carried out properly. Significant efforts have to be made to prevent the bacterium from persisting. Moreover, hygiene procedures use large amounts of water and cleaning products. The project's overall objective was to use air drying to prevent the persistence of the bacterium while reducing the environmental impact of hygiene procedures.

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Safety of organic meat

Funding: National Research Agency

The SOMEAT project aimed to provide objective scientific data to assess the benefits and potential risks of organic meat production systems in terms of their contaminant content. The project also provided new insights into socio-economic determinants of organic meat consumption and proposed original approaches for back-tracing contaminants in the meat production chain. SOMEAT was a project combining basic and industrial research. It took into account the three pillars of meat production system sustainability through multidisciplinary approaches covering the chemistry of contaminants, food engineering, cellular and molecular toxicology, risk assessment, economics, “omics” approaches, and chemometrics.

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