The financial support was granted by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in partnership with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), enabling the FSRN to continue delivering food safety research.
Hosted by the Quadram Institute, the FSRN was co-created by the FSA in 2022 in order to bridge the gap between research, industry and policy, and ensure that cutting-edge science is translated into practical solutions that support food safety systems.
Since its inception, the network has delivered 42 collaborative research projects, distributed £1.88 million to multidisciplinary researchers, hosted 11 workshops across the UK, and provided support to early career researchers and SMEs.
The network is now entering a new phase focused on four strategic research themes – assuring food and food safety standards, understanding consumers and society, adapting to future food systems, and addressing global brand challenges linked to food.
Dr Rick Mumford, deputy chief scientific adviser at the FSA, said: “Our continued partnership with BBSRC to support the FSRN underlines our commitment to being a science-led and forward-thinking regulator.
“The network plays a critical role in helping us stay ahead of emerging food safety risks and in shaping an agile and evidence-based approach to regulation. We are delighted to be able to continue to support this important work.”
The FSRN is now an inclusive and collaborative community of almost 500 members across 290 organisations, an approach which enables the FSA to proactively identify and respond to risks across the food system.
Emerging risks identified by the network include microbial threats in ready to eat foods and challenges posed by novel proteins and vertical farming. The next phase will also have a focus on home food safety, evolving food production practices and the impact of climate change.
“We’re hitting the ground running with real energy and purpose,” added Dr Matthew Gilmour, FSRN co-director and Quadram Institute research group leader.
“The Food Safety Research Network has shown what’s possible when you bring food businesses and researchers into the same room to solve real-world problems.”
