Introduction
Portugal plans and executes annual control plans to check the foodstuff safety, to ensure consumer’s health. This control is assured by different institutions and therefore a large amount of data is produced. Additional data is provided by other stakeholders, such as universities, research centres, laboratories and food business operators.
To compile, and standardize this multi-source data, PortFIR (Portuguese Food Information Resource) was created, in order to provide national data to be used in risk assessment.
Objective:
Compilation and standardization of data making it available to risk assessment and other fields of work, through PortFIR.
Material and Methods
- Identification of food safety information providers: The food data providers were identified: laboratories, universities and other research centres, food business operators and national risk management authorities, which are the major data providers;
- Identification of all databases, languages and codification methods used: The national risk managers work under different languages and coding systems, according to their own needs;
- Development of specific, custom-made software to collect all the data: The data model is being created based on SSD (Standard Sample Description) and controlled vocabularies, developed by EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) to annual report of official control plans, by Member States;
- Creation of a dedicated website (PortFIR): The PortFIR aims to be a platform that will host and analyse the data provided and make it available to users according to access levels;
Results
A data model was created to compile and standardize multi-source data and make it usable for risk assessment.
The PortFIR platform was created as a network for food data sharing, based on the principles of quality, transparency, reliability, produced in a standardised way validated, documented and with quality indexed data, compatible with other national and international databases. These databases include information regarding chemical and microbiological contamination, food composition and food consumption.
Conclusion
As outcome of PortFIR it will be possible to compile, maintain and share data to risk assessors and others stakeholders, concerning occurrence of food safety hazards and food consumption, essential to exposure assessment.
The system will provide information for other risk assessors, in a near future, according to their own access levels, to ensure data confidentiality, and can be also used as evidence to support the risk communication and management activities, improving the integration of all risk analysis actors, in order to assure a high level of food safety.