Food and Drink is a hugely important sector for Scotland and the UK economy, generating a turnover of £14.4 billion and £5.3 billion of GVA (gross value added) for the Scottish economy in 2014 alone. This sector not only has an impact on Scotland’s economy but food production can also has a significant influence on our environment, health and society and these are all areas that SEFARI research aims to a make a difference.
Foodborne Toxoplasmosis: Detection of viable parasites in retail meat poster presented at Shaping the Science for Scotland’s Food Future event held at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh on 18th April 2024.
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that impacts human and animal health worldwide. Infection in humans is usually very mild, however, there can be severe or life-threatening disease in immune compromised people or pregnant women. Toxoplasma also impacts the livestock sector where it can cause abortion in sheep and goats. Foodborne transmission of T. gondii is thought to be a major source of infection in people, particularly the consumption of raw or undercooked meat.
Food Standards Scotland’s (FSS) vision is to create a safe, healthy, and sustainable food environment that protects the health and well-being of people in Scotland. To achieve this, FSS have key strategies for reducing illness from foodborne pathogens (commonly referred to as food poisoning), this includes the distribution of food safety information to all consumers.
Dr Ellen Evans is a Reader in Food Safety Behaviour at the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre in the UK. As a qualified professional chef, and after completing a PhD focusing on the food safety risks associated with listeriosis among older adults at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Dr Evans has conducted numerous cognitive and behavioural food safety research projects.
ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre Food & Drink Research Unit,
Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences,
Cardiff Metropolitan University,
Western Avenue,
Cardiff,
CF5 2YB.
The research of Jules Griffin and his team focuses on the application of analytical chemistry to study metabolism and nutrition in metabolic diseases. His group has developed and applied metabolomics and lipidomics tools to investigate aspects of the metabolic syndrome and how nutrition interacts with health across the life course. This has included studies based on cell culture, model organisms, human diet intervention studies and epidemiology.
Rowett Institute
University of Aberdeen
Foresterhill
Aberdeen
AB25 2ZD
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global, immediate and ongoing concern to human health. AMR occurs when microbes become resistant to clinical or veterinary drugs that are used to treat disease, and this has major consequences on how microbial diseases are managed and therefore how antimicrobial compounds are used.
By engaging with school students, scientists have an opportunity to enhance learning, share their passion for their subject, demonstrate the relevance of subject areas and highlight a diversity of career opportunities.
I am a Principal Investigator at the Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen in the Gut Microbiology group. My research interests include understanding how diet impacts the structure and function of the microbial community in the human large intestine, and establishing how bacterial gene expression responds to diet and interactions with other bacteria. Another key research interest is understanding the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance genes.
Eleanor is a researcher at the Moredun Research Institute. Her research focusses on Campylobacter species and other zoonotic pathogens.
Current interests: