On the 13th of February 2024, THEROS, ALLIANCE and WATSON had their first liaison meeting, with the view to create mutually beneficial synergies and exploit the maximum potential of their upcoming results and outcomes!
A round table presentation initiated the meeting between the representatives of THEROS (SEAB, JSI & ICCS), ALLIANCE (UTH & INTRA) and WATSON (UCD) Horizon Europe Projects.
THEROS & ALLIANCE are considered as sister projects as they are funded under the same topic: HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-04 – Innovative solutions to prevent adulteration of food bearing quality labels: focus on organic food and geographical indications, while WATSON is also considered as a liaised project, as it is funded under a similar topic: HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-11 – Effective systems for authenticity and traceability in the food system.
THEROS aims to tackle the misuse and counterfeiting of the geographical indication label on products by implementing a new integrated toolbox that can verify organic and geographical food labels. Specifically, it will come up with low-cost, digital and scalable solutions that rely on Earth Observation, photonics, Internet of Things and DNA authenticity methods, coupled with advanced analytics, machine learning and AI. The toolbox will be tested in four countries covering diverse requirements.
WATSON is developing 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. Moreover, it will demonstrate the solutions in six different use cases across a number of key food supply chains, covering important commodity groups in the European food system (e.g. wine, olive oil, honey, meat, fish, cereal and dairy).
ALLIANCE aims to provide a holistic framework that safeguards data integrity and veracity, enhances traceability and transparency and reinforces interoperability in quality labelled food supply chain through innovative technology solutions and validated approaches that fosters evidence-based decision making. The project leverages the power of emergent technologies to ensure capillar data collection, data veracity and integrity, and proactive risk management. ALLIANCE strengthens the geographical indication and organic food quality labels by ensuring the integrity and authenticity of these labels and by improving the traceability of the environmental impact and the sustainability of these products. Finally, it will equip food actors, farmers, public authorities, and policy makers with meaningful insights through 7 diverse use cases.
The representatives discussed a provisional plan of upcoming liaison and cross fertilization activities between the three projects, including as primary activities, the creation of an active cluster, the cross media promotion and the potential cooperation in stakeholders’ mapping and their needs.
THEROS’s presentation is available here.
More information about the upcoming activities will be announced soon!
