Since the Belgian dioxin-chicken crisis in 1999, the kaolinitic clay contamination with dioxins and the citrus pulp contamination with dioxins, consumers’ concern exists about the safety of food. The key-contaminants causing the concerns in these crises were dioxins and PCBs.
These accidents revealed a need for continuous monitoring of the quality and safety of our food. However, currently there is not enough capacity within the European Union (EU) to measure dioxins in food and feed which is being fed to animals for agricultural products. Besides, the quality of the data produced by food control laboratories is sometimes limited due to the absence of a broad range of certified reference materials to check the quality of the data.
The DIFFERENCE project (Dioxins in Food and Feed – Reference Methods and New Certified Reference Materials) will focus on the development, optimisation and validation of alternative (screening) techniques for analysis. These techniques should allow a reliable, simple and low-cost determination of dioxins and PCBs in order to guarantee a widespread implementation throughout the EU.
Furthermore, the DIFFERENCE project aims at the production and testing of five candidate certified reference materials (milk product, meat, fish, fish oil and feed) which allow laboratories to improve the quality of the produced data.
The project has started at 1 February 2002 and will last for 36 months. The objectives of this project are outlined on this website as well as a glimpse on the obtained results. The website also covers background information (related info), relevant literature and possibilities to get in contact with the coordinator for more information.