With contributions from over 30 international legal scholars, this topical Research Handbook on International Food Law provides a reflective and crucial examination of the rules, power dynamics, legal doctrines, societal norms, and frameworks that govern the modern global food system. The Research Handbook analyses the interlinkages between producers and consumers of food, as well as the environmental effects of the global food network and the repercussions on human health. Chapters explore the development of food law and governance strategies, the regulation of novel foods, including insects, and the application of technology and science in food production, such as genetically engineered food. The insightful contributions examine the legal challenges facing the global food system and suggest practical recommendations for future research and reform. Providing a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective on the complex legal landscape of food production and consumption, this Research Handbook will be essential reading for students and scholars of food law, consumer law, public international law, and regulation and governance, as well as food system advocates, international lawyers, and policymakers.
LINK
Moral food lab: Transforming the food system with crowd-sourced ethics
LINK
This study theorizes on the sociomateriality of food in authority-building processes of partial organizations by exploring alternative food networks (AFNs). Through the construction of arenas for food provisioning, AFNs represent grassroots collectives that deliberately differentiate their practices from mainstream forms of food provisioning. Based on a sequential mixed-methods analysis of 24 AFNs, where an inductive chronological analysis is followed by a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), we found that the entanglements between participants’ food provisioning practices and food itself shape how authority emerges in AFNs. Food generates biological, physiological and social struggles for AFN participants who, in turn, respond by embracing or avoiding them. As an outcome, most AFNs tend to bureaucratize over time according to four identified patterns while a few idiosyncratically build a more shared basis of authority. We conclude that the sociomateriality of food plays an important yet indirect role in understanding why and how food provisioning arenas re-organize and forge their forms of authority over time. Pascucci, S., Dentoni, D., Clements, J., Poldner, K., & Gartner, W. B. (2021). Forging Forms of Authority through the Sociomateriality of Food in Partial Organizations. Organization Studies, 42(2), 301-326. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840620980232
DOCUMENT
Chemical preservation is an important process that prevents foods, personal care products, woods and household products, such as paints and coatings, from undesirable change or decomposition by microbial growth. To date, many different chemical preservatives are commercially available, but they are also associated with health threats and severe negative environmental impact. The demand for novel, safe, and green chemical preservatives is growing, and this process is further accelerated by the European Green Deal. It is expected that by the year of 2050 (or even as soon as 2035), all preservatives that do not meet the ‘safe-by-design’ and ‘biodegradability’ criteria are banned from production and use. To meet these European goals, there is a large need for the development of green, circular, and bio-degradable antimicrobial compounds that can serve as alternatives for the currently available biocidals/ preservatives. Anthocyanins, derived from fruits and flowers, meet these sustainability goals. Furthermore, preliminary research at the Hanze University of Applied Science has confirmed the antimicrobial efficacy of rose and tulip anthocyanin extracts against an array of microbial species. Therefore, these molecules have the potential to serve as novel, sustainable chemical preservatives. In the current project we develop a strategy consisting of fractionation and state-of-the-art characterization methods of individual anthocyanins and subsequent in vitro screening to identify anthocyanin-molecules with potent antimicrobial efficacy for application in paints, coatings and other products. To our knowledge this is the first attempt that combines in-depth chemical characterization of individual anthocyanins in relation to their antimicrobial efficacy. Once developed, this strategy will allow us to single out anthocyanin molecules with antimicrobial properties and give us insight in structure-activity relations of individual anthocyanins. Our approach is the first step towards the development of anthocyanin molecules as novel, circular and biodegradable non-toxic plant-based preservatives.
The valorization of biowaste, by exploiting side stream compounds as feedstock for the sustainable production of bio-based materials, is a key step towards a more circular economy. In this regard, chitin is as an abundant resource which is accessible as a waste compound of the seafood industry. From a commercial perspective, chitin is chemically converted into chitosan, which has multiple industrial applications. Although the potential of chitin has long been established, the majority of seafood waste containing chitin is still left unused. In addition, current processes which convert chitin into chitosan are sub-optimal and have a significant impact on the environment. As a result, there is a need for the development of innovative methods producing bio-based products from chitin. This project wants to contribute to these challenges by performing a feasibility study which demonstrates the microbial bioconversion of chitin to polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Specifically, the consortium will attempt to cultivate and engineer a recently discovered bacterium Chi5, so that it becomes able to directly produce PHAs from chitin present in solid shrimp shell waste. If successful, this project will provide a proof-of-concept for a versatile microbial production platform which can contribute to: i) the valorization of biowaste from the seafood industry, ii) the efficient utilization of chitin as feedstock, iii) the sustainable and (potentially low-cost) production of PHAs. The project consortium is composed of: i) Van Belzen B.V., a Dutch shrimp trading company which are highly interested in the valorization of their waste streams, hereby making their business model more profitable and sustainable. ii) AMIBM, which have recently isolated and characterized the Chi5 marine-based chitinolytic bacterium and iii) Zuyd, which will link aforementioned partners with students in creating a novel collaboration which will stimulate the development of students and the translation of academic knowledge to a feasible application technology for SME’s.
Colours are an essential component of human lives since they can influence the final appearance of many products. A large variety of choices can be affected by the colours which are presented to us, for example in the food industry, product design, textiles etc. (Rao et al. 2017). Synthetic colours are dominating nowadays landscape, due to their ease of production, low manufacturing costs and resistance (UV, temperature) in use. However, many of these are also considered hazardous to both human and environmental wellbeing. In the effort of achieving a more sustainable society and limit environmental footprint, natural pigments are arising more and more interest (Velmurugan et al, 2009). As a consequence, the demand of natural pigments is expected to undergo a sharp rise in the future market (Venil et al. 2013). Further research is needed in order to render natural colours both more economically viable and better employable in industry (i.e. process standardization, pigments stability). Biobased pigments can derive from a variety of sources, such as plants, bacteria, algae and fungi (Venkatachalam et al. 2018). The present project is a feasibility study on producing novel biobased pigments with fungi. In order to understand the most optimal production requirements, the biological conditions and novel extraction techniques will be considered. The initial characterisation of the produced pigments will be carried out both regarding the chemical composition and the properties, such as UV- and thermal stability. The SME companies, BioscienZ and Phytonext and the Avans Centre of Expertise BioBased Economy (CoEBBE) will combine their expertise and collaborate with a goal to make a step change in production of biobased colourants.
