One of GHI's priorities is to collect and communicate sound principles of food safety science to influencers and decision makers-from the general public and the press, to politicians, policymakers and regulatory authorities. The aim is to improve understanding and to better inform all stakeholders so that objective scientific concepts, not political expediency or media hype, become the basis of crafting meaningful, harmonized food safety legislation and regulation in all countries.

As the first in GHI's new Share Sheet series, Harmonisation: Feeding People, Fueling Innovation outlines how differences in food safety regulations between countries not only impedes the use of new technologies but also leads to the destruction of food in a world where 1 billion people go hungry. Using Parclesus' Toxicology Principle, "the dose makes the poison," the two-page brief illustrates how poor communication and misperceptions by politicians, policymakers, consumers and other influencers can result in the development of non-science-based and conflicting regulations, globally.

Click here to download the GHI Share Sheet on Harmonisation: Feeding People, Fueling Innovation.

Prof. Angel Angelov

Head, Centre for Food Quality and Safety Education, Department of Biotechnology, University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Prof. Angel Angelov

I was appointed as the GHI ambassador for Bulgaria in 2014, but my first introduction to the activities of the GHI was in 2013, at the fourth MoniQA International Conference in Budapest. I was a participant at the meeting of the MoniQA Mycotoxins Working Group, and attended the section organized by the GHI, where discussions were focused on harmonization of methods for mycotoxin analysis. Meeting with colleagues from GHI and exchanging ideas for future activities provoked my interest and later, I started to follow the activities of GHI in this newsletter, GHI Matters. In 2014, a meeting with several GHI ambassadors from other countries and with GHI President Huub Lelieveld at the 7th CEFood Congress brought about the idea to join GHI as an ambassador.

My willingness to join GHI is based on many years of professional experience and participation in numerous scientific forums, councils and commissions, at regional and national levels, where I have the opportunity to communicate information about food safety to various stakeholders in Bulgaria.

An important activity related to food safety in Bulgaria is teaching at the Centre for Food Quality and Safety at the University of Food Technologies, in Plovdiv. The Centre offers the only food safety program in Bulgaria, developed for master's degree students. The curriculum was developed with the support of colleagues from other European universities and attracts many students, most of which are employees in food companies. The Centre also offers regular workshops and seminars in the field of food quality and safety for a variety of stakeholders. The latest training course was held jointly with the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency in February 2015. Topics included food security, microbiological and chemical hazards, modern analytical methods and new legislation related to food labeling with focus on European Union Regulation 1169/2011. Fifty-two participants attended the course from different branches of the food industry, universities and control laboratories. Another course will be organized in the autumn of 2015, covering food analysis and calculation of nutritional values.  

My activities as a GHI ambassador will involve a range of stakeholders - including students, researchers, representatives of the business, legislators and control authorities, and branch organizations - and information from GHI will be distributed widely as a result. I believe many stakeholders from Bulgaria will be interested in GHI's Working Groups and other activities.

FROM THE AMBASSADOR TO MACEDONIA

Prof. Vladimir Kakurinov

Professor and Veterinary Faculty at St. Kliment Ohridski University, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

Prof. Vladimir Kakurinov

In 2012, I was appointed GHI Ambassador to Macedonia. I am the Executive Director of Consulting and Training Centre - KEY, and a member of numerous international and domestic organizations. My primary task has been to raise awareness of GHI as an organization as well as its scope not only in Macedonia, but also across the region.

In September 2013, KEY organized the international conference Food Quality and Safety and Hygienic Engineering and Design conference in Skopje, Macedonia. More than 150 companies, academics, agencies, directorates, and municipality representatives from 15 countries were present. With this in mind, we organized special session about the Global

Huub Lelieveld and Susanne Brown at GHI at Food Quality and Safety and Hygienic Engineering and Design' in Skopje, September 2013.

Harmonization Initiative to which all

In May 2014, KEY organized the 7th Central European Congress Food Chain Integration, a multidisciplinary forum for all fields in food science and technology, from primary food producers to consumers. Approximately 300 participants from 38 countries exchanged experiences, new developments and innovations through 86 presentations, 143 posters and 101 full papers. International organizations, such as EFFoST, EHEDG,

GHI Ambassadors meeting at CEFood in 2014.

We would also like to inform all GHI members that KEY is organizing the Hygienic Design Festival 2015 in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia at Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality on 27-29th May 2015 (please see the link below).

At the same time, the Hygienic Engineering and Design and Food Quality and Safety meeting will also take place. This is an opportunity not only for GHI to present its activities, but also for GHI members to share their research in the fields of hygienic engineering and design, and in food quality and safety.