Plant and food biosecurity: A European Union Network of Excellence
M. GULLINO (1), J. E. Thomas (2), C. Henry (3), H. Dehne (4), F. Suffert (5), M. Bonifert (6), J. Mumford (7), H. Alpas (8), A. Bertin (9), F. Marelli (10), A. Gamliel (11), J. Fletcher (12), J. Stack (13)
(1) University of Torino, Grugliasco (TO), ITALY; (2) NIAB, Cambridge, UNITED KINGDOM; (3) FERA, York, UNITED KINGDOM; (4) INRES, Bonn, GERMANY; (5) INRA, Thiverval-Grignon, FRANCE; (6) REC, Szentendre, HUNGARY; (7) Imperial College London, Ascot, UNITED KINGDOM; (8) METU, Ankara, TURKEY; (9) Spin-To, Torino, ITALY; (10) UNICRI, Torino, ITALY; (11) ARO, Bet Dagan, ISRAEL; (12) NIMFFAB, Stillwater, OK, U.S.A.; (13) Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, U.S.A.
Phytopathology 101:S65

A European Union Network of Excellence (NoE) was recently established involving thirteen partner institutions from eight countries: Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Turkey, Israel and United States. The consortium will focus on biological threats which have the capacity to infect plants, damage agriculture production and ultimately have impact on food and feed at any stage in the supply chain. Funded by the European Commission’s Programme Security, the NoE includes the following areas of emphasis (Work Packages): Epidemiology and crop biosecurity; Food biosecurity; Analysis of risks to European food systems and society from the intentional introduction of new pest and disease agents; Development and deployment of diagnostic and detection systems; Responder systems for eradication and containment; Training for plant and food biosecurity; Dissemination, awareness and communication. Funded for five years, the Network of Excellence will renew and reinforce a previously established European partnership on crop biosecurity. New countries, institutions and topics have been included with the aim of establishing a virtual Centre of Competence in plant and food biosecurity that will enhance preparedness and response capabilities. The ultimate goal is to develop the capability and capacity to prevent, respond and recover from a biological incident or deliberate criminal act threatening the European agrifood system.