EU project sets-up food fraud community

A European project is aiming to create a platform where stakeholders can come together to discuss food fraud.

The European Food Fraud Community of Practice (EFF-CoP) is led by Saskia van Ruth, Professor of Food Supply Chain Integrity at University College Dublin’s School of Agriculture and Food Science.

Professor van Ruth said food fraud reaches every dining table and undermines trust in foods.

“The EFF-CoP project will establish and mobilize an unprecedented collaborative 5,000-member community of scientists, regulators, small- and large-sized businesses in food supply chains and laboratories in driving research and innovation for food authenticity to create a future of greater traceability and confidence in our foods. EFF-CoP will revolutionize how we combat food fraud, promoting fair competition across food businesses and enhancing consumer faith across Europe,” she said.

With €2 million ($2.1 million) funding under Horizon Europe, the project officially starts in January 2025 and ends in December 2027.

It is separate from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Food Systems Community of Practice which includes nutrition and food safety.

Input from partners
The goal is to create a community of more than 5,000 members dedicated to combating food fraud and learning from one another.

Work will involve festivals, gamification-based training courses, living labs, an “Authentic Appetites” podcast series, webinars, virtual cafés, a food fraud incident preparedness workshop, and other events.

One element of the project is to have SMEs in a knowledge-sharing network where they can learn from each other’s experience and expertise, benefitting from collaboration and innovation across borders.

University College Dublin is coordinating the project with 11 participants including Nofima, Wageningen University, LGC, Deloitte, and Eurofins France. Eight partners include the Economic and Food Safety Authority (ASAE) in Portugal, SSAFE and the Food Fraud Prevention Think Tank, both in the United States, and the Food Industry Intelligence Network (FIIN).

The International Network for Small and Medium Enterprises (INSME) is a consortium partner.

Secretary General of INSME, Giovanni Zazzerini, said: “SMEs are not only the backbone but also the most dynamic force in Europe’s food sector. However, they often face significant challenges regarding ensuring full transparency and authenticity in their supply chains, especially with limited resources compared to large corporations. This project offers SMEs crucial tools to protect their brands and reputations, better meet growing consumer demands for transparency, and comply more easily with complex regulatory standards.” 

SSAFE is a non-profit membership organization that uses public-private partnerships to strengthen the food supply. The firm has been working on fraud issues for more than a decade.

Quincy Lissaur, executive director of SSAFE, said: “Food fraud continues to be a serious concern that impacts lives and livelihoods everywhere. This initiative provides a strong way forward to bring together stakeholders from across the EU and other parts of the world to collaboratively combat food fraud.”

ANSTO food fraud project
Meanwhile, a workshop on food fraud was held in Sydney, Australia as part of the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA) in October.

The event was part of a project led by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which is looking at the use of nuclear analysis techniques in food traceability.

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam sent participants to Australia, with representatives from Japan attending virtually. Two observers from Fiji also attended in person.

All participating countries which harvest Tiger prawns will contribute samples. Other items to be investigated include turmeric, rice, mango, honey, coffee, plum, meat, and milk.

Dr. Debashish Mazumder, stable isotope ecologist at ANSTO, said the project is undertaking research to establish a food provenance technology platform and a database for priority food items to mitigate incidents of fraud in the supply chain. 

In a Q&A session, participants raised common challenges that emerged in the project including funding issues, sample collection problems, trust issues within the industry, and the importance of food safety and provenance to address adulteration issues in the supply chain.

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/12/eu-project-aims-to-set-up-food-fraud-community/