The European Food Fraud Community of Practice

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Mar-2025
Feb-2025
Jan-2025
Project Kick-off Meeting

🌍🔍 EFF-CoP Editorial Board📝💡

The European Food Fraud Community of Practice (EFF-CoP) Editorial Board has been created to ensure knowledge flows freely to help experts unite, and members to shape the conversation!

The EFF-CoP Editorial Board is comprised of a team of passionate professionals 🏆 dedicated to delivering insightful, high-quality content tailored to our members' interests. Each article will be written by specialists in their fields, ensuring accuracy, depth, and practical insights. All EFF-CoP members are invited to actively participate in shaping our content by engaging with our LinkedIn page.

This Editorial Board isn’t just about writing - it’s about listening and collaborating! Using LinkedIn polls 📊, EFF-CoP will ask YOU, our community, to vote on the topics that matter most. This way, every article will reflect real needs, real concerns, and real expertise!

All these articles will be uploaded to the upcoming EFF-HUB, a dynamic digital platform designed to connect minds, foster innovation, and provide invaluable resources. Only registered members will have access to Good Practice Recommendations, factsheets, case studies, educational content and a forum - all aimed at strengthening the global fight against food fraud.

EFF-CoP invites YOU to be part of this journey! Engage with our polls, suggest topics, and help shape the future of EFF-CoP!

Together, we can build a thriving, knowledge-rich community and strengthen our global fight against food fraud!

🎉 Stay tuned for the launch of the EFF-CoP website and HUB, upcoming articles, and let’s shape the future of food fraud detection and prevention together! 🙌

Please visit the the FAN for EFF-CoP for all EFF-CoP updates.

EFF-CoP at the Analysis 4 Authenticity Conference

On February 12th, a virtual gathering of experts, researchers, and policymakers took place at the Analysis 4 Authenticity Online Food Authenticity Conference, hosted by the Food Authenticity Network.

Among the key speakers was Professor Saskia van Ruth, coordinator of EFF-CoP, who took the stage and introduced the project, a collaborative initiative designed to strengthen cooperation in the fight against fraudulent food practices. She emphasized how EFF-CoP is working to bridge the gaps - bringing experts together and reinforcing food integrity across global supply chains.

Highlights from Project Launch Meeting

In the heart of Amsterdam, on January 15-16 2025, a group of passionate partners[1] came together to officially embark on an important journey - the fight against food fraud. This moment marked the beginning of EFF-CoP, a collective effort dedicated to making food systems more transparent, authentic, and resilient. With a shared vision, the partners made a powerful commitment to:

🌍 Enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing
📖 Develop and disseminate best practices
🚀 Promote innovative learning and capacity building
🔍 Strengthen food authenticity, traceability, and transparency
🤝 Expand and sustain a vibrant community through EFF-HUB
🌱 Ensure long-term viability and impact

Over the course of two inspiring days, Work Package Leaders and partners, took the stage, presenting their ideas, brainstorming strategies, and setting ambitious goals - not just for the project’s success, but for its lasting legacy beyond its official duration. But it wasn’t all work; they also cooked together, danced together, and built the kind of trust and camaraderie that turns a group of professionals into a true team.

In the coming months, EFF-CoP will launch its official website and EFF-HUB, a dynamic digital platform designed to connect minds, foster innovation, and provide invaluable resources. Members will have access to Good Practice Recommendations, factsheets, case studies, educational content and a forum - all aimed at strengthening the global fight against food fraud.

But learning won’t be confined to static resources. EFF-CoP is set to revolutionize engagement with interactive activities like food fraud festivals, gamified training sessions, living labs, webinars, podcasts, and hands-on workshops.

Whether you’re an expert, a researcher, a policymaker, or simply someone who cares about the integrity of the food on your plate - you are welcome to join. The fight against food fraud needs a community, and that community starts here.

[1] UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, AGROKNOW IKE, SMART AGRO HUB, NOFIMA AS, WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY, REZOS BRANDS, LGC LIMITED, 8D GAMES BV, DELOITTE LIMITED, RETE INTERNAZIONALE PER LE PICCOLEE MEDIE IMPRESE, EUROFINS ANALYTICS FRANCE SAS, WENGER-TRAYNER UNIPESSOAL LDA, AUTORIDADE SEGURANCA ALIMENTAR E ECONOMICA, SSAFE, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements - EU Group, FIIN LTD, UDRUGA DIH AGRIHRANA HRVATSKA, Food Fraud Prevention Think Tank LLC, Stichting Fraude Film Festival, Stichting FSSC.

Aim: To revolutionise the combat against food fraud and enhance transparency in food supply chains.

How? By establishing and mobilising a lively European Food Fraud Community of Practice (EFF-CoP) with 5000 members, a sustainable Research and Innovation eco-system of all stakeholders dealing with food fraud prevention and detection.

The Food Authenticity Network (FAN) is delighted to be a Partner in the EFF-CoP project and will be leading Work Package 2: Identification of Needs and future research agenda.

Work Packages

WP 1
WP 2
WP 3
WP 4
WP 5
WP 6

Work package number 1: European Food Fraud Community of Practice Network (EFF-CoP)’s inception and mobilisation.

Objective: To establish a lively European Food Fraud Community of Practice (EFF-CoP) which will drive knowledge exchange between regulators, food industry, funding bodies, standardisation bodies, other end-users, and natural and social scientists.

Work package number 2: Needs of EFF-CoP and future research agenda.

Objectives: Identification of the needs of the EFF-CoP through foresight exercises and development of the future research agenda:

To produce micro- and macro-scenarios that outline possible futures for food fraud in Europe.
To outline a food fraud research agenda for the next 10 years and publish and distribute it as a white paper.

Work Package 3: Existing resources: Collection of and accessibility to current research, innovations, practices, and educational materials for preventing and detection food fraud.

Objectives:

To collect a complete account of the state of current knowledge, practices, procedures, systems, training and education materials, and technologies tackling food fraud.
To evaluate the cost/benefit aspects and possible barriers to implementation of the collected practices and innovations.

Work package number 4: New resources: Good Practice Recommendations, factsheets, and case study materials.

Objectives:

To produce a Good Practice Recommendation for SMEs on how to self-assess food fraud vulnerability and publish it as a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA).
To produce factsheets and case study materials combat food fraud.

Work Package 5: Interactive events: Training courses, living labs, and other events.

Objectives:

To develop smooth and efficient knowledge-flows through social innovation and community-based learning.
To develop long-term sustainable on-line collaborative space for upskilling and life-long learning.
To implement interactive events and activities to support maximised engagement among the EFF-CoP members.

Work package number 6: Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication

Objective: To develop a comprehensive strategy for dissemination, exploitation and communication, ensuring the maximisation of the project's outcomes and impacts across science, economy and society in Europe.