An information-based risk analysis IT tool protecting the European food system(s)

The Farm to Fork Strategy has recognised the necessity of intensifying efforts to combat fraudulent practices within the agri-food chain while simultaneously enhancing traceability and alert systems to improve coordination in addressing food fraud. A substantial volume of food chain data is already accessible at European and international levels, enabling a shift towards a digital, risk-based approach to safeguarding the food system. Nevertheless, this data is dispersed across various food businesses, competent authorities in Member States, and Commission services, and data sets are not always interoperable. The European Commission could harness its in-house resources, as existing databases, intelligence sources, and digital tools, to aggregate relevant food chain information. This aggregation can enhance descriptive analytics for visualizing current food safety and fraud issues, diagnostic analytics for identifying potential underlying causes, and predictive analytics for more effectively targeting risk-based official controls. The report recommends incentivising food integrity data sharing among Member States' competent authorities and the European Commission, creating a public-private partnership for transitioning the supply chain to digital traceability, and developing an AI-driven predictive analytics system to support targeting control activities to supply chains where fraud is most likely. It also proposes a project to assess supply chain vulnerabilities.