1. Faculty of Environment
  2. School of Food Science and Nutrition
  3. Research projects
  4. Food Safety Research Network

Research project

Food Safety Research Network

  • Start date: 16 October 2025
  • End date: 15 October 2028
  • Funder: BBSRC
  • Value: £884,480
  • Partners and collaborators: Quadram Institute (Lead), University of Leeds, University of Southampton, Fera Science, Newcastle University
  • Primary investigator: Professor Nicholas Watson
  • External primary investigator: Matthew Gilmour (Quadram Institute Bioscience)
  • Co-investigators: None internal
  • External co-investigators: Maria Traka (Quadram Institute Bioscience) , Co-Director Paul Hurley (University of Southampton), Dipali Singh (Quadram Institute Bioscience), Adam Bedford (Fera Science), K. Marie McIntyre (Newcastle University), Grant manager: Melissa Antoniou-Kourounioti (Quadram Institute Bioscience)

Food Safety Network Logo

In the UK, foodborne illness has an economic cost of £11B pa, and we believe new food safety solutions are possible by working across traditional scientific and stakeholder boundaries.

There is a ‘new edge’ to biological research in foods based on new technologies and economies that are shaping food system transformations and which transcend traditional microbiological questions on food hygiene and safety. Food systems transformation brings new ways of making and distributing foods, and new expectations on the variety and quality of foods, and at this edge, it is now possible to pursue research that impacts the food system by conducting interdisciplinary research using new technologies, varied data sources, and an incorporation of social factors.

The Food Safety Research Network (FSRN), since 2022, has lead the formation of connected hub of experts that effectively research complex issues on the safety of food and build new capacity to address these challenges.

The aims of the FSRN’s Expansion Phase (2025-28) are to amplify our strategic connections and complementary to other food system communities, to coordinate additional collaborative projects that advance translatable solutions for food safety, and to nucleate new investments in food safety based on emerging needs of our community.

These aims will be will be accomplished with activities structured around established FSRN capability areas:

  1. Our processes for effective network orchestration using core and flexible funding, totaling £1.88M to date.
  2. Our relationships with partners and other networks to access expertise and resource.
  3. Our ability to identify prioritised food safety insight and intelligence to be acted upon.
  4. Our focus on developing both people and technologies to meet agreed needs to advance food safety. 

These FSRN capabilities have ensured considerable accessibility and opportunity for early career researchers and for brokering projects between members that represent multiple different functional and strategic areas, such as the application of artificial intelligence and the sustainability of food systems.