Intensive programme

The Intensive Programme is the result of an intensive collaboration between European educational institutions within the ERASMUS programme of the European Commission.

In 2002 the development of the module Food Safety and Risk Assessment – Scientists & Consumers was started by seven partner institutions: Glasgow Caledonian University (UK, coordinating institution), University of Teesside (UK), TEI Thessaloniki (Greece), University of Lille - Licence SQAPS (France), Institut Limayrac - Toulouse  (France), Hogeschool van Amsterdam (The Netherlands), University of Umeå (Sweden) and University of Uppsala (Sweden). In the second year of the project three more institutions joined: University of Huddersfield (UK), Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (The Netherlands) and University of Navarra (Spain).

In the Intensive Programme FSRA Amsterdam 2005 six partner institutions together put the module Food Safety and Risk Assessment  into practice: Hogeschool van Amsterdam (coordinating institution), Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen, Glasgow Caledonian University, TEI Thessaloniki, University of Lille -Licence SQAPS and University of Umeå. For the IP Glasgow 2006  two new partners joined the project: the University of Navarra in Pamplona and the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences in Mönchengladbach. For the IP Lille 2007 again two new partners joined: Corvinus University of Budapest and the Irish Athlone Institute of Technology.

In 2007 a new programme was developed, with risk-benefit analysis as the central theme. Foods and food substances may influence human health both in a positive and a negative way, giving rise to health gain, health risk or even health loss, depending on intake, consumption pattern and/or individual conditions. A coherent way of assessing both risks and benefits will help policy makers and risk managers in decisions to provide consumers optimal protection against food hazards while at the same time offering full health potentials from foods, fortified foods, foods with special ingredients (functional foods) or supplements. Such a risk-benefit assessment may also be used to assist consumers in their food choices and to avoid conflicting messages in communication about foods, nutrients and food hazards.

The IP Safe and Healthy Food covers the areas of risk assessment, risk-benefit analysis and risk management strategies. In the IP Amsterdam 2008 two more partners were involved: Haute École Lucia de Brouckère , Brussels, and the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. With students of eleven nationalities this was a real European experience.