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The overall objectives of QALIBRA are to develop a suite of quantitative methods for assessing and integrating beneficial and adverse effects of foods and make them available to all stakeholders as web-based software for assessing and communicating net health impacts.
<p>To achieve these objectives QALIBRA will:<ul>
<li>Develop a generalised modular approach to risk-benefit analysis using menus of dose-response and valuation functions.
<li>Implement the risk-benefit analysis methods developed in QALIBRA in web-enabled software that is available for use by all stakeholders via an integrated website, with different components adapted to different user groups.
<li>Develop targeted risk communication strategies for integrated risk-benefit analysis, adapted to the needs of different stakeholders, and develop and test programs and materials for dissemination.
<li>Use the methods and software developed by QALIBRA to carry out comprehensive risk-benefit analyses for selected food groups including oily fish and functional foods, for selected EU populations, and use the results to evaluate and improve the QALIBRA approaches.</ul>
In order to assess the balance between the risks and benefits associated with a particular food, they must be converted into a common measure of net health impact.
<p>This must take account of uncertainties affecting the risks and benefits, which cause uncertainty about the magnitude and even the direction of the net health impact.
<p>QALIBRA is a Specific Targeted Research Project coordinated by the Icelandic Fisheries Laboratory (IFL) and supported by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme.
<p>The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) forms part of the project consortium and will make a substantial contribution to the work of the project. The Food Standards Agency is supplying joint funding for the CSL aspect of the project.
<p>The aims of this project directly address the European Commission's requirements for work programme topic T.5.4.8.3 - Assessing health benefits against potential effects of environmental contaminants in selected food groups.
<p>This project will help consumers make informed choices, one of the Food Standards Agency's key aims, and help develop our evidence base, as set out in the Agency's 2005-2010 Strategic Plan.
<p>Further information can be found on the QALIBRA project website: http://www.qalibra.eu/
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.