Coordination

Partners

Actalia
EA 3800 - USC Anses Epitoxo (université de Champagne-Ardenne)

Objectives

In a context of emerging foodborne parasitic diseases these last years, the WHO, the FAO and the EFSA highlight the need to deepen and develop knowledge on protozoan parasites transmitted by food.
To meet this strategic challenge, the UMT ACTIA PROTORISK aims at proposing analyzing tools and at studying the exposure to Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium spp and Giardia duodenalis from the primary production (vegetables and mollusks) to consumers.
This UMT, located in Reims, has started at the end of 2014 for 5 years.

Actions

Axis 1: methodological developments
The goal of this essential axis is to propose molecular methods for rapid, efficient and economically interesting analyses. The targeted matrices are vegetables and mollusks due to their exposure to environmental contamination during primary production, and developments will focus on extraction step from matrices and on molecular methods for detection, quantification and characterization (genotyping and viability).

Axis 2: evaluation and characterization of exposure to protozoan hazard
Occurrence studies in raw materials will be conducted in parallel of works aiming at characterizing the contamination risk factors, in order to be able to establish protocols for management/control of the protozoan risk.

Axis 3: qualification of industrial processes
This axis aims at determining the efficiency of current and/or innovative processes used in food industries, by evaluating the reduction of protozoan loads and the inactivation (viability reduction).