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<p>VITAL is the integrated risk assessment and management of contamination of the European farm to market food supply chain by pathogenic viruses. The project aims to acquire data on virus contamination of food and environmental sources suitable for quantitative viral risk assessment; assess foodborne viral risks for determining high risk situations and efficacy of interventions; develop new measures to prevent virus contamination of foods and the environment and develop and assess measures for virus reduction and control in case of virus contamination. </p>
<p>Background: This is a small collaborative project funded through the EU Framework Programme 7.</p>
<p>This project will address a major issue regarding foodborne viruses and the lack of effective risk management strategies and prevention measures against food and environment contamination. The current epidemiological surveillance systems can only react to and provide information on disease outbreaks that occur through contamination of food. VITAL will provide, to Europe, a framework for monitoring, risk modelling, and procedures for control of foodborne virus contamination, which will be applicable to any virus that poses the danger of being transmitted by food.</p>