The role of research in the future of the agro-food sector

In the agro-food industry, in line with the European Commission’s White Paper on Food Safety, it is now firmly acknowledged that quality must be planned and developed throughout the food production chain, irrespective of whether the food is of plant or animal origin. Food safety depends on all operators in the food sector, specifically with regard to foods of animal origin, where safety begins with animal nutrition and, even before that, in the “field”.All the research and newly acquired methods aimed at assuring traceability throughout the production chain and beyond are founded on a crosscutting, interdisciplinary approach.