The legacy of the horsemeat scandal in 2013 has resulted in the launch of several major initiatives by industry and governments to counter food fraud and assure the integrity of the food supply chain.
One area yet to be developed, prior to commencement of this project (April 2016), was cohesion of research activities between MSs. At the time there was a lack of accessibility and knowledge of the work of other MSs, potentially leading to duplication of effort at a time when national research budgets were diminishing and under increasing scrutiny.
From early discussions with funders it was clear there would be immediate benefits in just bringing the funding bodies together to share experiences and establish networks. In addition, funders identified that much would be gained by merely providing an inventory of current information on what has been done, where and by whom, in terms of MS R&D. Another conclusion was that there was very little strategic R&D taking place (UK was the exception), with most of the research being prioritised annually on a reactive basis. Leveraging was seen as a key method for MSs to maximise their budgets, and also as a means of having a more strategic element to their programmes.
An EU network on food authenticity research was acknowledged as the best way forward. Authent-Net was commissioned to fulfil that need.
Authent-Net’s overall objective is to facilitate sustainable cooperation between national and international research funding bodies in the area of food authenticity, to improve the competitiveness of the food supply chain and the consumer confidence in it, by means of better co-ordinated, cost effective R&D.
The specific objectives were to:
1. build a network of Member State research funding bodies, to increase knowledge transfer and facilitate transnational co-operation;
2. develop an openly available harmonised set of terms and definitions for use in food authenticity that will help transnational discussion and stocktaking;
3. “map” out food authenticity in Europe and undertake stocktaking and analysis of existing data (e.g. national research projects, methods, commodities, databases, regulations, etc.) in the area of food authenticity, with a view of developing synergies and contacts amongst competent organisations;
4. evaluate the gaps and complementarities in European funding of food authenticity R&D and assess them against the international landscape, in order to maximise synergies and impact and address where further research is needed;
5. develop a rationale and a recommendation for a high level strategic research agenda for transnational research programmes in Europe, extensively based on key stakeholder input;
6. establish a dynamic and sustainable European information platform for sharing and accessing information on food authenticity and related activities;
7. draft a white paper identifying the rationale for a potential ERA-NET on food authenticity;
8. actively disseminate the action aims and outcomes to other relevant research providers, and related stakeholders.
