Food safety & science
Food safety and quality are paramount to CEEREAL and its members
For CEEREAL members food safety and quality are paramount throughout all parts of the food chain – from sourcing ingredients and production to processing, storage, transport, trade, and retail sales.
CEEREAL members actively participate in research activities and academic studies. Also, we contribute industry data and expertise to EU institutions and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The expertise derived from this data is used to contribute to EU processed within EU institutions e.g., through stakeholder or public consultations.
CEEREAL ensured funding for and is now involved in the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action ACRYRED, which aims to reduce acrylamide exposure of consumers through a cereal supply-chain approach targeting asparagine. Through this initiative, a multi-disciplinary research and communication network was established.
We also engage in projects, such as Oats Monitoring, to collect and analyse the data on and get deeper insights into oats, which can then be used for publications and policy discussions.
Within CEEREAL, food safety issues are addressed in the Working Group on Food Safety.
Spotlight ON FOOD PROCESSING
Processing is necessary to turn certain raw ingredients, e.g., grains, into safe, nutritious, palatable, convenient, and cost-effective foods. Grains, including those used for breakfast cereals, are one example of raw ingredients that cannot be consumed without prior processing.
Oats, for example, are processed in the following way: When the raw oats arrive at the mill, they are cleaned and sieved in order to remove any other grain variety or seeds, which may have found its way into the delivery. The oats are then dehulled because the outer, inedible husk is tightly connected to the kernel. Depending on the desired final product, oats are then kilned, steamed and dried again. The drying changes their physical properties in a way that the grains can then be rolled into flakes.