Group Research and Development
Explore novel technologies and schemes to monitor and disclose information about food quality, safety, fraud, and contamination in the food supply chain.
Ensuring a safer and healthier future for foods and beverages
Contaminated food threatens the health of six hundred million people worldwide each year. Globalization fosters consumer demand for new varieties of products imported from all over the globe. This increases the fragmentation of the sector and the distance travelled to deliver products to consumers. Furthermore, global supply chains exacerbate traceability issues and the lack of transparency, exposing people to risks of food fraud and contamination.
Novel technologies can help to close traceability gaps and safeguard people’s health. We aim to lead the way towards the introduction of digital technologies in new schemes to guarantee the access, transparency, and honesty of food-quality and safety data. Analysis, monitoring, and disclosure of validated information on food quality and safety is essential to increase consumers trust in the quality and safety of the products they eat. It also helps predict contamination outbreaks, and reduce food wastage, leading to an increase in the sustainability of food systems and supply chains.
This research area aims to support the identification and management of vulnerabilities in food systems in order to improve food safety and defence and increase transparency in the traceability of food products. We believe in the fundamental role that digital assurance services will play in the future of trust in the food and beverage sector, guaranteeing access to safe and nutritious food through a combination of digital technologies and industry expert knowledge.