A new €11 million project to develop a holistic framework for traceability and authenticity in the food system has been funded by the EU’s research and innovation framework, Horizon Europe.
Led by Dr Dimitrios Argyropoulos, Assistant Professor at UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, 'WATSON' will be delivered by 44 partners across 19 EU and non-EU countries, and is supported by EIT-FOOD. The project further supports the critical mass of digitisation in the agri-food sector with a special focus on transparency and authenticity across the supply chain.
The project was formally launched at UCD on 15 March, attended by delegates from all 44 partners, with a welcome address from Pamela Byrne, CEO, Food Safety Authority of Ireland, followed by members from UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering.
Pictured (l-r) are: Professor Enda Cummins, Deputy Head of UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, Pamela Byrne, CEO Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Associate Professor Tom Curran, Vice-Principal for Internationalisation, UCD College of Engineering and Architecture and Dr Dimitrios Argyropoulos (WATSON Coordinator), Assistant Professor, UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering.
The overall aim of WATSON is to develop a holistic framework with digital and intelligence-based technologies that will assist food chain stakeholders in rapidly identifying and preventing the spread of fraudulent practices across the food supply chain.
The project will provide improved transparency through digital solutions such as Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and distributed ledger technologies that meet consumer demand and contribute to further development of policies for food authentication and traceability, resulting in long-term impact beyond the three-year duration of the project.
WATSON high-level architecture follows a layered and modular approach organised into three tiers:
- Trustworthy data sources
- Intelligence and application layer
- User interface
WATSON’s methodological framework and toolsets will be extensively tested in real-life settings, in six different European countries, replicated in at least three EU countries, considering different operational procedures and diverse environments. The project is organized around six agri-food sectors:
- Tackling counterfeiting of Portuguese wine
- Preserving the authenticity of Spanish northwest PGI honey
- Rapid traceability of extra virgin olive oil in Italy
- Identification of possible manipulations at all stages of the meat chain in Germany
- Improved traceability of high-value products in cereal and dairy chain in Finland
- Combating of white fish counterfeiting in Norway
WATSON use cases will contribute to farm-to-fork strategy and achieve benefits relevant to the EU's Food 2030 priorities.
More about WATSON
The consortium of 44 partners across 19 countries involves a wide diversity of actors, implementing an inter- and trans-disciplinary approach including 13 international research institutes and universities; 11 large enterprises and SMEs leading European research and revelopment; three NGOs/think tanks; four food safety authorities; 10 active stakeholders’ associations; and three retailers. EURONEWS will play a key role in communication and mainstream project outcomes.