Queen’s University Belfast

The Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) is one of four Global Research Institutes at Queen’s University Belfast, established to address key, international challenges – in this case, the future of the world’s food systems. IGFS will be a key partner in national and global efforts to provide the worlds growing population with a sustainable, safe and secure supply of high quality food.

The Institute is multi-disciplinary with researchers collaborating across schools and faculties, as well as specialisms that include sustainability, nutrition, agriculture and food safety. They routinely collaborate with industry to look for solution-based approaches.

Researchers within IGFS study soil, crops, water and marine life, animal feed and animal welfare to promote higher standards, whilst also leading the fight against food fraud in foodstuffs such as herbs and spices, rice, fish, meat and other food commodities.

Recently, the Institute moved into state-of-the-art laboratories within the new School of Biological Sciences building, housing a first class analytical laboratory that includes two LC-MS/MS systems, two LC-QTof mass spectrometers, GC-MS and GC-MS/MS, ICP-MS and ICP-MS/MS, Ion chromatography, a DART-MS system and a REIMS-QTof MS. The laboratory also has a range of spectroscopy instruments facilitating chemical analyses across a range of analytes including freshwater and marine toxins, pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals and mycotoxins.

IGFS has participated and collaborated in a number of research projects focusing on mycotoxin analysis in food and feed, including both targeted and untargeted approaches.

Project role:

IGFS will collaborate in research on mycotoxin analysis, including their mitigation in animal feed to protect animal welfare and health. They will also be involved in the toxicity detection “alert” system configuration and will act as the lead of WP6.