Food control research: what is it all about?

Food control research is a rather new field of research, focused on evaluating the efficacy and influence of food control on food safety. Food control is financed by society, which regulates needs in order to estimate the return on that investment. Does food control truly impact food safety and promote human health? Through food control research we may lay the scientific basis for the development of new control measures and policies. The occurrence of food-borne illnesses and food-related malpractices highlight the importance of an effective food control strate- gy. According to a broad literature search, the number of scientific publications in this field of research is growing, which may in part reflect growing public concern about food safety. The main areas covered in food control research today include evaluating the hazard analysis of critical control point (HACCP) systems, assessing the economic impact of implementing food control measures and evaluating national food control strategies. This overview describes the present state of food control research and discusses possible prospects in this field of research.