The 2021 Parma Summer School organized by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the University of Parma, the School of Advanced Studies on Food and Nutrition, and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, will provide early-career researchers an opportunity to learn from some of the most prominent experts in the field of food systems analysis and case studies. The relevance of the food safety issues, together with the technological innovation and the necessary adaptation of the risk assessment procedures, will be addressed in the frame of food systems transformations involving complex interactions and feedback between bio-physical, political and socio-economic drivers.

These complex issues and interactions need to be addressed with multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approaches, combining resources and expertise from different categories of stakeholders. The Summer School topics will be addressed across three different areas:

• Science-oriented perspective: how changes in the food systems driven by different factors (e.g. climate change, new consumption trends, new technologies, etc.), can lead to the emergency of new hazards and expose the citizens/consumers to new risks;
• Demand-oriented perspective: placing major emphasis on food consumption, changing consumers’ behaviour, consumers’ attitudes and risk perception and their impact on food systems dynamics;
• System-oriented perspective: focusing on the governance issues and factors affecting food safety, including risk management.

The 2021 Parma Summer School will be organized around three case studies.

Case study 1: Biodiversity and Environmental Safety. This session will use as core example the case of bees, extending to other ecosystem services to demonstrate the dimensions of biodiversity and environmental safety.

Case study 2: Chemical Mixtures. This case study will deal with the risk assessment of chemical mixtures, with a specific focus on the case of mycotoxins.

Case study 3: Novel Food and Technologies. This session will face the technical, social and regulatory challenges in novel food technologies, including risk assessment, focusing also on societal and market acceptance.

The event will be organized as a virtual meeting to be held on September 2021, 28th – 30th.

We look forward to having you on board for a fruitful (and virtual) discussion!