The WATSON project has recently participated in the 8th NRZ-Authent Workshop for Experts on Food Authenticity, hosted by the National Reference Centre for Authentic Food (NRZ) of our German partner the Max Rubner-Institut (MRI).
Held online on November 18th-19th, 2024, the workshop brought together professionals dedicated to tackling challenges in food authenticity and fraud prevention, and served as a platform for sharing cutting-edge research and strategies in the field.
On the second day, WATSON took center stage, delivering an engaging session that showcased our project’s comprehensive approach to preventing food fraud.
Led by Manuela Peukert and Dagmar Brüggemann (MRI), the session began with an introduction to WATSON’s holistic framework for addressing food authenticity challenges across multiple supply chains.
Expert insights from the WATSON team
The session featured presentations from four of our experts, each shedding light on distinct aspects of food fraud prevention:
Claudia Coral and Dagmar Mithöfer (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin): using examples from honey and meat supply chains, Coral underscored the critical role of trust in preventing food fraud. Her presentation illustrated how fostering trust among stakeholders can strengthen the integrity of food systems.
Olivier Ejderyan (FiBL – Research Institute of Organic Agriculture): Ejderyan emphasised the importance of social factors in the implementation of food fraud countermeasures. Drawing from WATSON’s findings, he shared valuable lessons on engaging communities and stakeholders in sustainable fraud prevention efforts.
Antonella Meyer-Masciulli (Mitera GmbH): Meyer-Masciulli explored the interplay between quality, ethics and trust in food fraud prevention. Her discussion highlighted the need for a balanced approach that integrates technological advancements with ethical practices.
The WATSON session at the NRZ-Authent Workshop underscored our project’s innovative methodology, which combines technological tools with social and ethical considerations.
Our project is paving the way for more transparent and trustworthy food supply chains by addressing food fraud from multiple dimensions – stay tuned!