Workshop between Japanese and Norwegian researchers within traceability and food safety

Abstract

During the last 5 years SINTEF has taken part in the development of a bilateral research agreement with Japan, within food safety and traceability. The final agreement was signed in 2007. Two round table meetings took place in Japan in 2005 and 2006. In this period several research and industrial delegations visited SINTEF and Nofima. Since 2005, NRIFS (National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Yokohama) and SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture have been closely cooperating within Traceability Control Mechanism research, and since 2006 FMRIC (Food Market Research and Information Center,Tokyo) have had a close relation with Nofima and SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture within food chain traceability research. In 2007 and 2008, SINTEF and Nofima were granted With 2 BILAT pre-projects aiming at establishing research partners and to come up with relevant research topics. In 2009 a large bilateral consortium was granted with a large 3-year research project by the "Food program" in Norwegian Research Council, focussing on food safety and traceability within the mackerel supply chain between Norway and Japan. This was a significant milestone in the development of research cooperation between the 2 nations and the 4 research institutes. However, it still is a challenge to obtain funding of joint or connected projects in Japan. This workshop aimed mainly at creating a platform for further and long term cooperation between the 4 research institutes.