Research project NP/DD/12 (Research action NP)
The main aim of the project proposed by VITO, VUB and COOVI is to produce a comprehensive inventory of the "state of the art" of knowledge on environmental and health aspects related to the food sector. The points of interest are:
- regulation and standardisation;
- information aimed at the consumer;
- environmental impacts of food chains (inventory of existing knowledge);
- ecobalances (Life Cycle Assessment LCA) for food products.
The first part of the inventory presents an overview of the prevailing and anticipated national and international regulation and of the different actors involved in standardisation, implementation and supervision/monitoring. It are namely these actors which will be responsible for the actual implementation of environmental and health aspects in food regulation. Next to a description of the actors attention will be paid to their specific tasks and their potential role regarding the "environment". A systematic overview of recent international activities and trends with regard to regulation related to sustainable food production will be a fundamental part of the investigation.
In the second part of the inventory an analysis is performed of the existing systems aimed at the diffusion of (environmental) information to consumers (labelling, other) in an international context.
The third part of the inventory investigates the crucial issues concerning environment and health related to the production, distribution and consumption of food. This inventory is based on existing knowledge. Special attention will be paid to the societal perception of the sector. Finally the study investigates the bottlenecks in food chains and in which areas the current LCAmethodology is lacking in relation to the analysis of food products. So that end, existing LCA's on foodstuff will be inventoried and systematically investigated. This systematic analysis encompasses not only a literature review but also an inquiry of the commissioners and the executors of LCAstudies. Besides the analysis of a selection case-studies, a number of relevant methodological developments will be addressed.
The information gathered during the inventarisation should be easily accessible, also to third parties. For that purpose, a blueprint for a database needs to be drawn already in this first phase of the programme "Standards for food products". In advance, an inventory will be made of existing databases and automated information systems to examine and identify the shortcomings and genuine needs. When developing a scheme for an environment and health related database for foodstuff, attention will be paid to structure, completion, actualization and quality control. The information stored in this database can utilised as a basis for the development of new regulations and standardisation and/or the adjustment of the prevailing regulation on foodstuff.
Mogelijkheid tot integratie van milieu- en gezondheidsaspecten in de normering van voedingsproducten : eindrapport
Ceuterick, D. - Deweghe, L. - Hens, L. ... et al Brussel : DWTC, 1999 (SP1086)
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