Until now, we have had very little understanding of the extent of malnutrition in Europe, especially in populations at risk of poverty. Now, an EU-funded project called CHANCE , aims to address the dietary habits in people with inadequate nutrition.

Many people in Europe are critical of genetically modified (GM) food, due to safety concerns. A Eurobarometer survey, published in 2010, revealed that the European public tends to be worried on a “mediate level” about GM food , with people in Austria being particularly concerned.

It is not obvious when examining a wrapped lettuce or a microwavable bowl of Chinese soup. But plastic food packaging is made of multiple layers designed to act as a barrier for oxygen or bacteria .

Seaweeds are not only tasty, but they are a source of nutrients that could be beneficial for health and wellbeing. And like terrestrial plants, seaweeds also contain significant portions of fibre that reach the colon undigested.

Lars Ove Dragsted, professor in preventive nutrition at the University of Copenhagen , Denmark, took part in a wide ranging EU funded project, called ISAFRUIT , designed to boost Europeans’ consumption of fruits and ultimately improve their health.

Peanut, egg and soy are more common food known to trigger an allergic reaction, a problem affecting around 8% of children in the EU. Intuitively, you might not list apples as causing allergic reactions.

Suzanne Dickson is a Professor of physiology and neuroendocrinology at the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, based at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg ,  Sweden.

If you can't kill them, trap them. Such is the fate that scientists are reserving to pathogenic bacteria, such as the infamous E. coli .

These were introduced in the wake of the mad cow disease scandal in the 90s'. Now, horse meat sold as beef in minced meat products and ready-made meals has revealed that traceability can only do so much for consumer reassurance.

youris.com talks to Clare Hall, social science researcher at the Scottish Agricultural College in Edinburgh, UK, about the best ways to effectively inform the public about food safety in relation to pathogens responsible for foodborne diseases.

Marek Zadernowski is a consultant, specialist in quality management and safety in a food sector, based in Olsztyn, Poland. He is a member of Polish Association of Food Technologists and a fellow of the  UK Royal Society of Public Health .

A French veterinary surgeon and former researcher at the Toulouse National Veterinary School , Philippe Baralon is the founder of Phylum , a consultancy specialised in food safety working for the food industry.

Ragnar Löfstedt is an expert on risk management at King’s College London , UK, and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Risk Research . He spoke to youris.

Mona Elena Popa, is Professor of industrial biotechnology at the  University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest  in Romania. She talks to youris.

Alex Richardson, is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention , at the University of Oxford, UK, and the co-founder of the UK charity Food and Behaviour Research.

Several hundred thousands of Europeans are affected by food borne diseases every year . Only a shift in perception of how food safety should be achieved could help avoid these illnesses.