Food4SDG - Trade-offs between food safety and food security and its impacts towards the SDGs for children in South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland
Project Abstract
Introduction
Climate change poses significant challenges to global food production systems, affecting food security, safety, and nutritional quality while exacerbating hunger and malnutrition. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize the need to improve diet quality and reduce environmental impacts. To address these issues, exposure data on food toxins and quality parameters from large cohort biobanks can be valuable for developing and monitoring risk mitigation measures. These research findings must be translated into actionable insights for decision-making aligned with SDG targets and indicators.
Objectives
Objective 1: Quantitative analysis of pesticide, mycotoxin and food quality biomarkers
Objective 2: Exposure and risk assessment of mycotoxins, pesticides and food quality
Objective 3: Impacts towards SDGs and development of selected mitigation scenarios
Methods
Objective 1: Develop a large panel of laboratory methods to measure multiple pesticides, mycotoxins and food quality markers in existing urine samples from children in South Africa, Switzerland and Sweden
Objective 2: Study spatial and temporal patterns of food toxin mixtures and food quality markers and estimate potential risks using reversed dosimetry for children in South Africa, Switzerland and Sweden
Objective 3: Semi-quantitatively evaluate trade-offs and the impacts for food safety and security towards the SDGs of food toxins and food quality for SDG 2, 3 and 12 and co-create selected risk mitigation scenarios with stakeholders in each country
Relevance
This research addresses critical global food production systems challenges aligning with SDGs. The aim is to fill data gaps on food toxins and quality parameters by focusing on food safety, food quality, and environmental impacts. The stakeholder engagement and trade-off assessment will support effective policy development, while Life Cycle Assessment or Environmental Impact Assessment will help to integrate ecological considerations into food safety strategies. This comprehensive approach will provide valuable insights for transforming food systems and monitoring progress towards the SDGs Agenda 2030.
