In 2011, safefood established the Knowledge Networks to create and build links between food safety professionals across the whole food chain on the island of Ireland. We have been delighted so many of you have played an active role in developing the Knowledge Networks, whether through attending events or reaching out to other members working across the various sectors.
Eight Knowledge Networks were set up: five covering microbiological parameters –
Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC), Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and Cryptosporidium; two dealing with chemical safety – chemical residues and biotoxins; and one focused on food allergy and food intolerance.
Your fellow Network members include food safety professionals from across the agri-food sector (the island of Ireland’s largest industry) including health, the food industry, academia, government and agriculture.
Our members work as health professionals - vets, environmental health officers, lab personnel; in national food regulatory agencies and public health and agriculture agencies; as food safety researchers and with professional representative bodies; and as key personnel in the food supply chain across primary production, processing, distribution, retail and catering.
Meetings and conferences
Every year, each Network held an annual meeting open to all interested food safety practitioners. As you know, they included presentations by Network members and guest speakers on their latest prevention and control practices, legislative updates, technological advances, industry perspectives, clinical issues, communication challenges, related research or any other items of interest to the membership.
Dedicated websites
The Knowledge Networks websites (safefood.ning.com and safefoodallergy.ning.com) have acted as your central hub, where you could always find news updates, analysis and expert insights, event calendars, conference presentations and other resources.
You may also have seen some of the many videos safefood produced for the sites, including training videos, interviews with conference speakers, interviews with participants in the Training & Mobility Programme (see next section) and more general information on food safety topics
Training & Mobility Programme
This programme has enabled Network members to visit and spend time at a conference or in another organisation to develop their knowledge and expertise in an area related to the scope of the Knowledge Networks.
To date, 52 of our members have taken part and, between them, they have visited 19 countries.
Knowledge Networks achievements
The safefood Knowledge Networks have helped to facilitate greater and faster knowledge sharing by those involved in all parts of the food chain to support and enhance food safety.
By providing early access to ongoing and completed research, the Networks have acted as a catalyst for industry-focused research and innovation. Above all, the Networks have helped professionals to meet new and emerging challenges with the overall aim of ensuring consumers can continue to have confidence in the food they eat. safefood is particularly pleased to have facilitated such a high degree of professional networking and sharing of knowledge ideas and solutions.To build on this, in September 2015, we carried out a comprehensive survey of Knowledge Network members to gather more feedback.
From 2016 onwards, safefood intends to build on the strengths and successes of the 2011-2015 Knowledge Networks programme. Consequently, we will further develop the Knowledge Network concept during 2016-18 by establishing a food sector-based framework for a single overarching Knowledge Network, instead of the present model of several individual networks devoted to specific pathogens and chemicals. The framework will be broadly based on the following food sectors:
1) Dairy
2) Poultry & white meat
3) Animal feed
4) Red meat
5) Fresh produce
6) Fish & shellfish
It is intended that the new 2016-2018 Knowledge Network configuration will have the necessary flexibility to address a wide variety of food safety concerns which shall be prioritised on the basis of their impacts on public health and the wider food chain.
“The Knowledge Networks have provided safefood with a valuable way of promoting food safety across the food chain,” said Dr Gary Kearney, Director of Food Science in safefood. “We are particularly grateful for the sterling work of our network facilitators who have worked hard to provide interesting and insightful work programmes. We look forward to the new iteration of the Knowledge Networks and their role in providing you with the most up-to-date food safety news and solutions to the issues of most concern.”
Knowledge Networks membership and events:
- Members of the Knowledge Networks : 2,648
- Knowledge Network events: 44
- Total number of delegates: 2,404
- Videos produced: 101
- International speakers at events: 82
- Uploads to Knowledge Networks website: 2985
- Page views of the Knowledge Networks website: 327,254
Knowledge Networks members work across the food chain;
- Industry: 19%
- Research: 18%
- Food safety consultancy and training: 17%
- Student: 9%
- Public health 8%
- Environmental Health: 7%
- Analytical services: 6%
- Veterinary Health: 5%
- Other: 11%
According to our survey:
- 69% said the Knowledge Networks enabled them to connect with other food safety professionals
- 26% have established new working relationships as a result of being a member of the Knowledge Networks
- 94% would recommend being a member of the Knowledge Networks to their colleagues
Comments from survey participants:
“The Knowledge Networks provide the opportunity to meet new people as well as reconnect with those who I've worked with or studied with in the past.”
“It facilitates discussion among members and provides updates on research activities of members.”
“Good way to be connected to what is happening in other parts of food industry and be updated with new developments.”
“Joint publications have resulted.”
“Some working relationships were created via emails and has improved since meeting the person face to face at a conference.”
“Events always very informative, interesting and well run.”
(safefood Knowledge Networks member survey, Sep 2015)
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