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Partner 18 - Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione (INRAN)

Contact person

Link to group leader's CV.

Institute and research group information 

The National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research (INRAN) depends on the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and conducts research in food science and human nutrition with the aim of protecting consumers and  improving the quality of agro-food productions. In particular, the Institute promotes and develops research in the field of food quality and safety. Furthermore, INRAN promotes nutritional and food education by preparing and diffusing nutritional guidelines, Italian RDAs and Italian food composition tables.

The INRAN research group "Food Safety - exposure analysis" (led by Catherine Leclercq) is involved in the development and refinement of efficient statistical methods to estimate the risk of an excessive intake of chemicals through food. Experience in estimating the exposure to food-borne chemicals using a probabilistic approach has been acquired in the EU-funded project MONTECARLO - “Development, validation and application of stochastic modelling of human exposure to food chemicals and nutrients”.

In addition to CASCADE, the research group is currently partner of the NOFORISK project - “Quantitative risk assessment strategies for novel foods”, the HELENA project “Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence”, and the recently approved EFCOVAL project (“European Food Consumption Validation”, VIFP) and scientists of the group are among the experts of EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) panels and working groups, CODEX Committees and JECFA.

Contribution to CASCADE

INRAN participates to WP 5, 10, 11 and 19 of the CASCADE project.  It is involved in the Risk assessment Task Force and in the Science and Society Task Force.

In particular, the INRAN research group “Nutrition and bone health” (led by Francesco Branca), with experience on the role of phytoestrogens in human health and hormone-dependent diseases, launched the course programme by, in collaboration with the Italian National Institute of Health - ISS (Rome, Italy), organising the “CASCADE Spring School - Food Safety and Environment: Health Risk Assessment” in Orvieto, Italy, 3-10 April 2005 (WP10).

Moreover, INRAN has developed a questionnaire to be distributed among scientists and various categories of end-users, who are involved in the generation and management of data concerning food consumption and exposure to food chemicals, to explore their interest to participate in selected “MSTnet” discussion group activities.

To meet the overall objectives of WP10, opportunities for project collaboration with other groups within CASCADE have been investigated through both physical meetings and email contacts  with other partners and a PhD student exchange was organised with partner 5.

Within the exposure project aimed at the exposure assessment of TCDD in people living in the Seveso area,  INRAN prepared the food consumption database according to the specific needs of the project and provided it to partner 11 (WP11).

The Italian pilot study on the CASCADE model compound vinclozolin, aimed at collection and compilation of intake and occurrence data, has been conducted by INRAN up to preliminary analysis of available data and of data gaps (WP11).

Representative scientific articles as relevant to CASCADE

Arcella D., Le Donne C. and Leclercq C. 2005. Dietary exposure to chemicals within the process of risk assessment. Possible applications to substances that may cause allergic reactions. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 64 (4), 418-25.

Arcella D. and Leclercq C. (2005) Assessment of dietary intake of flavouring substances within the procedure for their safety evaluation. Advantages and limitations of estimates obtained by means of a per capita method. Food and Chemical Toxicology 43 (1), 105:116.

Arcella D. and Leclercq C. Modelling exposure to mycotoxins. In: N. Magan, M. Olsen and F. Dodds (Eds). Mycotoxins in food: detection and control. Woodhead Publishing, CRC Press, Cambridge, 32-48, 2004.

Leclercq C., Piccinelli R., Arcella D., Le Donne C. (2004) Food consumption and nutrient intake in a sample of Italian secondary school students. Results from the INRAN-RM-2001 food survey. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 55 (4), 265:277.

Arcella D., Soggiu M. E. & Leclercq C (2003) Probabilistic modelling of human exposure to intense sweeteners in Italian teenagers. Validation and sensitivity analysis of a probabilistic model including indicators of market share and brand loyalty. Food Additives and Contaminants, 20 (1), S73:86.

Turrini A., Saba A., Perrone D., Cialfa E., & D’Amicis A. (2001): Food Consumption Patterns in Italy: the INN- CA Study 1994-96, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 55, 7, pp. 571-588.

Turrini A. (2000): Conceptual framework of an integrated databases system for nutritional studies, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, Vol. 13, No. 4, Aug 2000, pp. 585-595.