The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), through the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ), is organizing an advanced course on the "Use of biosensors for food safety and quality" in Zaragoza (Spain) from 16 to 20 January 2017. This course provides comprehensive information about modern biosensors, their parameters, possibilities and limitations, along with the emerging technologies of their fabrication.

In January 2017, the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ-CIHEAM) will host an international course on the use of biosensors for food safety and quality. Quality and safety of food products is a major concern of consumers and thus is one of the main challenges for a producer. Foodstuff comprises a great diversity of different products, each of which may have different hazards affecting its quality and safety. Biosensors play a crucial role in food control and analysis, providing relevant information on food-borne pathogens and contaminants and facilitating quality assessment. They also provide instrumental control necessary to comply with food European regulations. As compared with classical analytical methods, biosensors need smaller sample volumes, can be used for in-site on-line control and offer fast results allowing almost real-time decisions. Although most people can see the benefits of using the information provided by biosensors, this technology has not yet moved into the mainstream food processing industry. A better knowledge on the possibilities of these sensors and on their complementarity to other traditional analytical methods to achieve faster and more accurate results can enhance their adoption.