On 31 March 2026, the DEFENSEFOOD project successfully co-organised the joint webinar “Safeguarding Food Security in Europe” together with three other European projects (SECUREFOOD, ACT4FOOD, EFF-CoP). The event brought together 94 participants from across Europe for an engaging exchange on some of the most pressing challenges facing the food supply chain today.
During the webinar, the four projects presented their work, objectives, and missions, highlighting their different approaches to strengthening food security and resilience in Europe. The event also encouraged active participation, with interaction playing a central role throughout the session.
One of the highlights of the webinar was an interactive poll, where participants were invited to share their first thoughts on the question: How do different threats, such as fraud, cyber risks, and CBR threats, undermine food security? The responses reflected the complexity and seriousness of these challenges. Among the most frequently mentioned words were “trust,” “fear,” and “security,” while other common responses included “panic,” “safety,” “public health,” “waste,” and “weakened supply chains” (Figure 1).
These responses showed that threats to food security are not limited to disruptions in supply alone. They also affect public confidence, societal stability, and the resilience of food systems as a whole.
A second poll (Figure 2) explored what participants think of first when hearing the term food security. The responses showed that the concept was primarily associated with system resilience, while fewer participants linked it to food fraud, cybersecurity, or CBR threats. This suggests that food security is still widely understood through the lens of resilience and continuity, while emerging and intentional threats are less immediately connected to the concept.
A valuable discussion among projects, experts and participants
Following the presentations and polls, an open discussion was encouraged among the speakers, experts, and participants. This exchange created space for reflection on the different dimensions of food security and on the importance of considering not only traditional challenges, but also emerging and intentional threats. After the discussion, the same poll was shared again, and participants’ answers showed a slight shift, reflecting a broader understanding of the topic after the exchange of views.
Post-discussion perceptions of food security
The post-discussion poll (Figure 3) shows that participants associated fraud, cyber, and CBR threats with a wide range of impacts on food security. The most prominent responses were trust, safety, resilience, reputation, and business continuity, alongside terms such as health, public health, economics, and vulnerability. This suggests that, after the discussion, participants viewed these threats not only as risks to safety and supply chains, but also as issues affecting system resilience, economic stability, and public confidence.
Following the discussion, the second poll (Figure 4) revealed that participants primarily associated food security with system resilience, which received 21 out of 28 responses. By contrast, fewer responses referred to food fraud (4), cybersecurity (2), and CBR threats (1). These results suggest that food security continues to be understood mainly through the lens of resilience, while emerging and intentional threats are still less strongly connected to the concept.
Looking ahead
The webinar provided a valuable platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and reflection on how Europe can better protect its food systems against fraud, cyber incidents, and CBR threats. It also demonstrated the importance of collaboration among projects and stakeholders working towards a safer and more resilient food supply chain.
DEFENSEFOOD is proud to have contributed to this joint initiative and would like to thank all speakers, partner projects, and participants for making the event such a success.
Missed the webinar?
If you were not able to attend the webinar, don’t worry. You will be able to watch the recording on our YouTube channel and explore the key highlights on the DEFENSEFOOD website, very soon.
