Four European research and innovation initiatives will come together on 31 March 2026 for a high-level online event focused on safeguarding food security in Europe by addressing fraud, crisis risks, cyber threats, and chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) hazards across the food supply chain.
The online webinar, hosted via Zoom from 14:00 to 15:30 CET, will bring together experts, project partners, and stakeholders to explore how emerging and evolving threats can undermine food availability, safety, integrity, and resilience, as well as how coordinated action can strengthen Europe’s preparedness in the face of such crises.
A cross-cutting challenge for Europe
Food security is increasingly shaped by complex and interconnected risks. From food fraud and weak governance to cyber-physical attacks and major CBR incidents, today’s threats demand integrated solutions that span prevention, detection, response, and recovery.
This joint webinar frames food security as a cross-cutting challenge, linking system integrity, operational continuity, and crisis preparedness. Through project presentations and an interactive roundtable discussion, participants will examine how different threat vectors interact and where collaborative approaches can deliver greater impact.
Key discussion topics
- The impact of fraud, cyber and CBR threats on food security
- The different dimensions of food security, including food fraud, system resilience, CBR threats and cybersecurity
- Complementarities between current approaches and remaining vulnerabilities
- Joint messages to policymakers and stakeholders on strengthening food security
Participating Projects
The webinar will feature presentations from four EU-funded projects, each offering a distinct but complementary perspective on protecting Europe’s food systems:
- DEFENSEFOOD: enhancing preparedness and response to major chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) threats
- EFF-CoP: addressing food fraud risks and reinforcing trust as key pillars of food security
- ACT4FOOD: tackling cyber and cyber-physical threats affecting food systems
- SECUREFOOD: strengthening food system resilience and governance to support long-term food security
Each project will present how its work contributes to safeguarding food security, followed by a moderated roundtable discussion exploring shared challenges, complementarities, gaps, and joint policy messages. The event will then conclude with an open Q&A session, offering participants the opportunity to engage directly with project experts
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the Research Executive Agency can be held responsible for them.
