Institute for Global Food Security

Queens University Belfast

The Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) is one of four interdisciplinary Global Research Institutes at Queen's University Belfast, established to address key, international challenges - in this case, the integrity of our food systems. Food and drink have become a global industry with many positive aspects - access, affordability, variety. Yet that industry is also faced with a number of conundrums:

1. Climate change throws up huge challenges for agriculture & food production
2. Soon there may not be enough food to feed a growing population
3. The integrity of increasingly complex food supply chains is often compromised
4. Deliberate food fraud is a growing crime

Our researchers address challenges  - environmental, food-safety, animal-health, nutritional - at each point of the foodchain, from farm to fork. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has designated IGFS an IAEA Collaborating Centre, recognising its global reach in food safety, authenticity and traceability. Our ASSET Technology Centre  hosts the Centre for Excellence in Agriculture and Food Integrity, in partnership with the UK National Measurement Laboratory. It is also listed as a Centre of Expertise by the Food Authenticity Network, a UK DEFRA initiative. IGFS is anchored in the School of Biological Sciences but includes many researchers from other schools and faculties.