CASCADE at ESOF2008 - tapas theme and cocktail questions

What is in our food and how should we think to eat healthy and safe? That was the theme for the session CASCADE arranged together with CommNet during Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) in Barcelona in July.   CASCADE partner Nicolás Olea, professor at the University of Granada and expert in Food safety research, spoke about the necessity of an overall picture of food. The levels of chemical compounds in single food stuff may not exceed the threshold value. But what will happen when different chemicals interact with each other and the natural hormones of our body?

 

The common state is that the food intake brings us a chemical cocktail, containing chemicals that may or may not, act with endocrine disrupting effect.

 

- We definitely have to focus more on what we do not know about these compounds, instead of take for granted what we know and then just assume that everything else is harmless, says Nicolás Olea.

 

CASCADE also had a exhibition stand at ESOF, where participants had the opportunity to give their view of how safe and healthy tapas are. Scientists and communicators attended to answer questions of the visitors at the stand. ESOF participants also had the opportunity to give their view of food safety via questionnaires in the CommNet stand.  Around 200 ESOF participants answered the questionnaire, which showed that people mostly are very concerned about chemical contaminants in their food.

 

ESOF is Europe’s largest meeting place for researchers, stakeholders, students and science journalists. This year conference had than 4000 participants. The next conference will take place in Torino, Italy in July 2010.

 

 

 

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