The Food Safety Network at the University of Guelph provides research, commentary, policy evaluation and public information on food safety issues from farm-to-fork.
Using electronic networks, extensive databases and rigourous field research, the Food Safety Network works closely with the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety as well as national and international collaborators to put science into action -- to develop and implement scientific and publicly credible policies and programs to enhance the safety of the food supply.
Among the activities of the Food Safety Network are:
The identification, development, implementation and assessment of appropriate food safety interventions from farm-to-fork, including on-farm food safety programs for Ontario processing vegetables, greenhouse vegetables and most recently field fruit and vegetables in Ontario;the incorporation of public perceptions and cost-benefit analyses into policy development through survey work and media analysis, without abdicating the leadership role of science; an evaluation of policy alternatives such as voluntary, regulatory, and market interventions to achieve optimal levels of food safety; a web site and database providing extensive references and summary documents, complete searchable archives for the four listserves, as well as extensive use of on-farm, in-plant and in the home video to illustrate food production, and a consumer-oriented section "Eat Well, Eat Safe;an expansion of educational and consumer outreach at the Food Safety Network Model Farm, a 250-acre fruit and vegetable operation owned and operated by Jeff and Sharon Wilson of Hillsburgh, Ontario, including continuing comparative research on genetically engineered and conventional sweet corn and potatoes, the certification of a parcel of land as organic (a three-year process) and extensive microbial sampling of fresh produce to determine appropriate interventions to reduce microbial contamination from planting through to retail; the establishment of an institutional vehicle for policy forums, to serve as a neutral academic platform for multi-sectoral debate of key policy issues affecting food safety.
