**14. Conclusions and recommendations**

To maintain a safe food supply and to detect toxins in an ever-changing environment, an ongoing, concerted effort in assay development and validation is essential for human health and safety. Some areas for investigators to consider include the development of new antibodies and binding molecules specific to BoNT serotype F as well as new hybrid serotypes. The impact of different types of neurotoxin accessory proteins on the detection of BoNTs should also be examined. Furthermore, the impact of food processing conditions on the stability and bioa‐ vailability BoNTs is an area in need of further study. The development of new bioassays based on non-mammalian systems and cell cultures should also be supported as well as the ad‐ vancement of new portable and field-deployable testing methods, including those based on miniaturization of current bench top instruments. These are only a few recommendations, but their development and use should help to further ensure food safety and animal and human health.
