New food fraud initiative kicks off in Europe

A new three-year EU project will bring together academics, regulators and the food industry to try to fight food fraud and improve the transparency of the industry's supply chains.

The EFF-CoP project or European Food Fraud Community of Practice: From Outset to Operation to give its full name – is scheduled to start in January 2025 and aims to bring together "scientists, regulators, large and small-sized industry, the organic sector…and existing networks" to create a research and innovation ecosystem to enhance food authenticity and traceability.

It gets underway with nearly €2m in funding from the EU's Horizon programme and will be led by Prof Saskia van Ruth, an expert in food supply chain integrity at University College Dublin's School of Agriculture and Food Science in Ireland.

"Food fraud impacts dining tables worldwide and undermines trust in our food,” commented Prof van Ruth. "EFF-CoP will revolutionise our approach, promote fair competition, and strengthen consumer trust across Europe."

A virtual headquarters – the EFF-Hub – will be set up to assist in the collaborative effort and will be used to disseminate educational resources, good practice recommendations, case study materials, and host and promote virtual and live events including food fraud festivals, gamification-based training courses, a food fraud incident preparedness workshop, and a podcast series.

"Our goal is to cultivate a vibrant community of over 5,000 members at the end of the project, all dedicated to combating food fraud and learning from each other," according to the project description on the European Commission website.

"Together we will work towards a future with enhanced authenticity, traceability and transparency within our food supply chains."

The European Commission estimates that food fraud costs the global food industry around €30bn each year. It is defined as the deliberate and intentional act of substituting, altering or misrepresenting foodstuff for financial gain.