The Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”, in cooperation with the Latvian Council of Science, is implementing research application No. 1.1.1.9/LZP/1/24/124 “From data to decisions: development of smart tools for food safety risk assessment and prioritization”.

Within the framework of the European Union cohesion policy programme for 2021–2027, specific support objective 1.1.1 “Strengthening of research and innovation capacity and introduction of advanced technologies in the common R&D system”, measure 1.1.1.9 “Post-doctoral research” (project agreement No. 1.1.1.9/1/24/I/001), the research application was started on July 1, 2025. The project is implemented by scientific institute “BIOR” researcher Jānis Ruško.

In the first half-year of the project, the main attention was devoted to the creation of the database base layer and data harmonization, which is a precondition for the further development of the risk rating and prioritization tool. In the 2nd month of the project, the first result (D1.1) was prepared and submitted – version 1 of the contaminant list, which was compiled, structured, and supplemented based on publicly available sources from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and related information. The list is designed to be directly usable for further data integration, including the grouping approach (grouping terms) and category structure necessary for consistent data linking with food categories and analytical metadata. This result serves as the “backbone” of the project database and a reference point for the future development of the system.

At the same time, work has started on the second result (D1.2) of Work Package 1 (WP1) – the preparation of a centralized database with harmonized occurrence data and documentation. At this stage, the selection and compilation of occurrence data sources, the alignment of data fields and units, the definition of quality control principles, as well as the development of the data dictionary and database schema are taking place to ensure a unified approach for data maintenance and further automated processing. Version 1 of the deliverable (D1.2) is scheduled for completion in the 8th month of the project, ensuring database version 1.0 for integration with subsequent work packages.

In the first half-year, a significant role was also played by competence building and international cooperation, which directly influences the methodological quality of the project and the transferability of results into practice. On November 19–20, 2025, participation was implemented in Brussels at the training seminar “Benchmark Dose (BMD) modelling” organized by EFSA, where Benchmark dose (BMD) modeling (including model averaging), practical work in the EFSA BMD platform, characterization of uncertainty, and presentation of results for the derivation of Health-Based Guidance Values (HBGV) according to EFSA standards were learned; the acquired knowledge is intended to be used within the framework of the post-doctoral project WP1–WP2, especially in cases where ready-made health-based guidance values are not available for specific contaminants. In the practical part of the seminar, the main steps of the EFSA BMD tool and its application were tested, which is planned to be integrated into the project data flow, simultaneously establishing direct contacts for future cooperation and mobility.

On September 16–19, 2025, participation was implemented in the COST CA22105/CA22166 (BeSafeBeeHoney/SafeGameMeat) seminar “Animals as Bioindicators” held in Krakow and the subsequent BeSafeBeeHoney working group meetings, where sessions on the application of bioindicators and contaminant issues were attended, an exchange of experience with partners took place, as well as information on what has been accomplished in thematic directions was provided within the working groups, which is directly usable for the improvement of the project’s data acquisition, harmonization, and prioritization approach.

Over the next 6–12 months, WP1 results will be completed by creating version 1.0 of the centralized database with harmonized occurrence data, full documentation, and preparing the foundation for WP2 tasks. This will include the systematic compilation of HBGVs and linking with contaminants, identification of data gaps, and preparation of predictive toxicology approaches, while simultaneously starting the preparation of WP3 activities for the integration of food consumption data and development of exposure calculation prototypes.

The total approved costs of the project are in the amount of 184,140.00 EUR, of which 156,519.00 EUR or 85.0% is European Regional Development Fund financing and 18,414.00 EUR or 10.0% is state budget financing.

The project implementation duration is 36 months – from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028.

02.01.2026.