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<p>FACET constitutes a tool for post market monitoring since it reflects the real exposure of a targeted population to a food chemical, taking into account the variability of concentration and the real occurrence for each food category.</p>
<p>In summary, there were eight research work packages, which are organised in three linked groups:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Chemicals group (four work packages: flavourings, additives, packaging materials and concentrations). This group had as its focus, the target chemicals as outlined in the call. Each sought to determine a list of target chemicals in their given area to ascertain relevant concentration data. These data were gathered independent of the group responsible for collecting occurrence data since both were different.</li>
<li>The Foods group (three work packages: food intake, chemical occurrence and regional consumption modelling). This group operated together for several parts of their work package and formed a link with other member states. The food intake grouplinked with the chemicals group to agree definitions of food groups and intakes of such defined food groups and worked with the database group to create suitable database architecture for food intake data. This group worked closely with the Regional Modelling Group to create the necessary input into the regional models.</li>
<li>The Database and Modelling groups (exposure modelling work package). Databases were constructed which will show connectivity between intake, occurrence and concentration for each chemical. These databases will exist in tiers corresponding to the complexity of the data.</li>
</ul>
<p>As leader of the packaging materials work package, Fera steered this work and also had a seat on the committee steering the overall project. Fera will also had substantial roles in the work packages on regional consumption modelling and database and modelling.</p>
<p>There were 28 milestones and 30 deliverables listed in the full description of work . For some, Fera was responsible and for the majority, other project partners bore responsibility. The successful completion of this project was dependent on the collective responsibility of all parties.</p>
<p>Background: The original concept behind FACET was the creation of a food chemical exposure surveillance system, sustainable beyond the life of the project to meet the needs of EU regulatory authorities in the protection of consumer health. At the outset, there were a number of bottlenecks in exposure assessment. These included access to national food consumption databases, difficulty with food categorization, limited knowledge on food chemical occurrence, lack of data on food chemical concentration and on packaging substances. FACET was designed to address all of these issues with regard to the specific concerns of flavourings, food additives and food contact materials.</p>
<p>The overall impact of FACET, which will use a risk-management approach, will be evident at a number of levels including: protection of the consumer, fostering innovation in the food chain, driving the scientific approach and influencing international food regulatory affairs. </p>