WATSON
A holistic frameWork with Anticounterfeit and inTelligence-based technologieS that will assist food chain stakehOlders in rapidly identifying and preveNting the spread of fraudulent practices.
An ambitious Horizon Europe project aiming to develop a methodological framework combined with a set of tools and systems that will detect and prevent food fraud thought the whole chain, thus accelerating the deployment of transparency solutions in the EU food system.
Work Package: Socioeconomics Methodologies, Tools and Approaches for Prevention of Food Fraud
Project Brief:
The EU-funded WATSON project will develop a set of tools and systems that can detect and prevent fraudulent practices across the entire food supply chain. It will increase transparency through improved track-and-trace mechanisms containing accurate, time-relevant and untampered information on the food product throughout its whole journey. The project will also raise consumer awareness about food safety and value, leading to the adoption of healthier lifestyles and the development of sustainable food ecosystems. The results will be demonstrated in 6 use cases:
- prevention of counterfeit alcoholic beverages
- preservation of the authenticity of PGI honey
- on-site authenticity check and traceability of olive oil
- the identification of possible manipulations at all stages of the meat chain
- the improved traceability of high-value products in cereal and dairy chain
- combat of salmon counterfeiting.
Our research team at HU-Berlin, in collaboration with several other partners will be dedicated to the identification of food chain stakeholders’ attitudes towards adulterated food and understanding their potential vulnerability, including systemic drivers and hindering factors to commit fraud and trade-in inferior quality goods. These include relevant features of the system, such as the knowledge infrastructure, the physical infrastructure, legislation and regulations, standards, values and symbols, interaction between actors, and the market structure.
Project duration: 01.03.2023 - 28.02.2026
Partners: WATSON will be delivered by a multidisciplinary consortium of 44 partners across 19 EU and associated countries, coordinated by University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD)
Main program: HORIZON.2.6 - Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, Topic: HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-11 - Effective systems for authenticity and traceability in the food system
Funding: EU-funded project, Granting Authority: European Research Executive Agency
Grant Agreement: ID: 101084265
Contact: Prof. Dr. Dagmar Mithöfer, Dr. Claudia Coral
Links: Watson EU Horizon Europe project Fact Sheet; Teaser Video; LinkedIn
