Boosting European cooperation on food safety

The European Commission attaches utmost priority to the safety of food. Overriding aim is to secure a high level of public health protection through safe products from food industry – Europe's largest production and employment sector.

Funded by the EU under Horizon 2020, the FOODSAFETY4EU project was launched on January 1, 2021 under the leadership of the Italian partner CNR (Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche; CNR; engl. National Research Council of Italy) and coordination by Dr. Veronica Lattanzio (CNR) and Dr. Nunzia Cito (CNR). FOODSAFETY4EU unites 23 institutions from 12 countries, backed by 44 stakeholders from the food safety sector (see below).

FOODSAFETY4EU aims to design and implement a multi-stakeholder platform for the future European Food Safety System (FSS). Through the platform, a network of FSS stakeholders at national, European and international level will be established and a demand-driven information portal for food safety authorities, EU agencies, policy makers, researchers, as well as the general public, provided.

The FOODSAFETY4EU platform is intended to facilitate efficient access to resources and data, the synchronization of food safety research strategies, the coordinated exchange of scientific findings and more transparent communication. It also strives to trigger the joint development of strategies and their translation into policies and funding programs.

An overall objective of FOODSAFETY4EU is to support the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) work mandate in the area of risk assessment and communication, with the ambition to establish a new EU Knowledge Center for Food Safety and the first European Food Safety Forum as long-term interface.

Within the FOODSAFETY4EU project, the TUM Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry is leading work package No. 4 on the “Definition of the Research and Innovation Framework for Future Policies”. A key focus is on analyzing future demands on European research programs and funding opportunities in order to provide recommendations to authorities for harmonization and to develop a coherent Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) on food safety. Related to this, so-called Food Safety Operational Labs (FSOLabs) will be established and used to pilot selected food safety topics & i. The Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry is involved in the conceptualization and management of two FSOLabs.

The 23 FOODSAFETY4EU project partners are listed below, together with the geographical location of the 44 supporting partners.