Food systems are increasingly exposed to a wide range of interconnected threats that can affect food availability, safety, integrity, and public trust.

This issue will be the focus of four European research and innovation projects, which will come together on July 3, 2026 for the second webinar in a joint series. The first was held in March in Ireland.

The series is aimed at strengthening food system security through enhanced resilience, preparedness, and threat anticipation.

The online webinar will bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders to discuss how early signals, emerging risks, and innovative security approaches can support the development of more resilient and prepared food systems.

It will showcase how resilience management, food fraud prevention, cybersecurity, and food defence systems can contribute to the security and integrity of Europe's food sector.

Building resilience

This webinar builds on the success of the inaugural joint event held in March 2026, which brought together experts from across Europe to examine the impact of food fraud, cybersecurity, food system resilience, and chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) threats on food security.

According to the organisers, the "strong engagement and valuable exchanges" generated during the March webinar demonstrated the need for continued collaboration across disciplines and sectors to address the evolving challenges facing Europe's food systems.

Ahead of the second seminar, the organisers stressed that risks to food systems are becoming "more complex and dynamic".

This second joint webinar, titled ‘Advancing Food System Security: From Early Signals to Systemic Resilience', will highlight innovative methodologies, frameworks, and tools developed through the four EU-funded projects.

Participating projects

The event will see each of the four projects will give a presentation on food system security:

SecureFood: 'Food Systems Resilience Management Framework'; 
EFF-CoP: 'When All You Have Is a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail: Why Analytical Methods Only Solve Part of the Food Fraud Problem, and What Other Approaches Are Needed'; 
ACT4FOOD: 'Methodologies and Approaches for the Development of Cybersecurity Solutions in the Food Chain'; 
DEFENSEFOOD: 'From Early Signals to Early Warning: Anticipating Emerging Food Safety and Food Defence Threats'. 

Following the project presentations, participants can take part in a discussion focused on key challenges facing food system security.

The discussion will examine how the different approaches complement each other, identify remaining gaps, and exchange views on future priorities for research, policy, and practice.

The webinar will conclude with an open question-and-answer session, allowing participants to engage directly with project representatives and experts.

‘Advancing Food System Security: From Early Signals to Systemic Resilience’ will take place on Teams on July 3, from 3:00p.m (Irish time).