by icia icia

Objectives:
development of the research capacities of ICIA by the development of the Laboratory of food quality control with a new component: the control of the chemical residues in food products;
diversification of the research activity and the rising of the capacity to access the European funds.

OBJECTIVES General objectives:

  • development of the research capacities of ICIA by the development of the Laboratory of food quality control with a new component: the control of the chemical residues in food products;
  • diversification of the research activity and the rising of the capacity to access the European funds;
  • promotion of multisectorial and multidisciplinary researches in concordance with other fields: veterinary medicine, agronomy, food chemistry, biochemistry, information technology, to understand and correlate the chemical results to the modern nowadays context,
  • intensification of the research in the analytical chemistry field with the development of new methods at nanoscale level;
  • bonding the research Romanian teams to the international research nets, with medium and long term impact on the research quality in Romania.

Specific objectives:

  • modernization of the Food quality control Laboratory: its rehabilitation;
  • improvement of research capacity, complete the assets by the acquisition of equipments, hardware and software;
  • instructed personnel;
  • elaboration of the development strategy of REZALIM in the next 3 years.
DESCRIPTION Lately, a new interdisciplinary science has been developed, with the purpose to ensure the food safety, which deal with the complex issues of toxicity on people health of biologically active compounds resulted from chemical substances which contaminate the food (residues). According to Codex Alimentarius Commission, CAC: „residues are those substances and their derivatives which reach the food by agrochemical ways and the use of different chemical compounds utilized in animal raising, animal illnesses treatment, food obtaining processes, packaging, transport and storage of food”.
CCFAC-Codes Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants elaborates a document named Codex General Standard in Contaminants and Toxins in Food, which contain the basis principles for the food quality control. The food quality control and food safety need to be assured by legislation at national level in concordance with international legislation. Determination of concentration at nanoscale level of chemical residues in food is a very actual field and a compulsory condition in food quality assurance and food safety.
A basis requirement in the program of negotiation for the integration was the assurance of free movement of the products. Food needs to accomplish an essential condition: they do not have to contain harmful substances for the consumers. The presence of harmful substances in food has concerned and preoccupied the specialists, from many years, this problem receiving a new dimension due to increasing environment pollution and the uncontrolled utilization of some chemical substances with the purpose of rising food quality. The unfavorable effects on the consumers could be acute or chronic illnesses with severe consequences on health condition and work capacity.
In the last years, a new pollutant class drawn the scientist’s attention, namely pharmaceutical residues. The pharmaceuticals administered to home-breed animals, including antibiotics, hormones, anesthetics, tranquillizers, chemotherapic for cancer, begin to be measured as residues in different products. In addition, there is the tendency not to discern the drugs as pollutant factor, although there is a high probability they could be transferred as residues, and till 90% of a drug could leave the organism unmodified. In UK there has been reported the effects on human health of veterinary drugs residues. Veterinary drugs are biologically active compounds, and their residues which reach the animal originating food have biological effects on consumers, that could accumulate. The most important problem is the determination of admitted limit concentrations (which, in some cases, they are compulsory absent) in food products, without illness risks. European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) is responsible about these limit concentrations.
The use of veterinary pharmaceuticals is highly important in decreasing mortality and animal illnesses, but imposes also the residues control in animal originating food, because their presence has effects on food quality, on people health and nutrition. Thus, it is imposed the presence control and determination at nanoscale of these chemical residues in food.
Beginning with year 2000, when, European Council started adherence negotiations with Romania, there was opened a new perspective to approach the issues regarding the food quality. Thus, there is legislation for “chemical contaminants” in food products. In this context the term “chemical contaminant” covers the pesticide residues and veterinary drugs, heavy metals, mycotoxins and nitrates. EU legislation regarding veterinary drugs residues in animal originated food products are described in Council Regulation 2377/90 din 01.01.1992. In this context, a proposed laboratory as REZALIM, capable to determine the quality of animal originated food products represent an important aspect towards alignment with EU legislation. REZALIM is an answer to these requirements
RESULTS ESTIMATED It is estimated that REZALIM, as a developed structure in ICIA, where work many professors and students from Cluj-Napoca Universities, besides ICIA specialists, will accomplish:

  • the development of research capacity by the improvement of ICIA RD infrastructure and the creation of possibility to hire new staff for RD department;
  • the obtaining of accreditation so that the new created structure will be extended/recognized at national level and will permit the connection to European net in the field;
  • the formation and/or attraction of some high qualified specialists which will carry on research activities in the specific activity field of Laboratory;
  • the development of ICIA capacity to become a suitable partner in European research programs, ensuring the increasing of its competitivity (by improving the personnel and endowment with high performance equipments);
  • the formation of a powerful research staff to achieve the chemical residues determination more accurate and the research activity more profitable;
  • coagulation of a zonal cluster (6 North-West region) of food producing SMEs, which will form later, togheter with the research institutes and universities in the area, a RDI and Technological Transfer Center in the analytical methods and food safety field.
RESULTS OBTAINED
Other Informations Contact details

CSII dr. Cecilia Roman
Tel. 0264-420.590, 0755038705
Fax. 0264-420.667
Email. icia@icia.ro, cecilia.roman@icia.ro
Attached documents: