EU – Centre against food fraud inaugurated by the Commission

To address consumer concerns about food quality and fraudulent practices in the food sector, the European Commission is launching tomorrow a knowledge centre on food fraud and food quality, to be managed by the Joint Research Centre.

The knowledge centre, a network of experts recruited from within and outside the Commission, will support EU policy makers and national authorities by making available and sharing the latest scientific evidence in the field of food fraud and food quality.

Concerns about food fraud and food quality undermine consumer confidence and damage the entire European food supply chain, from farmers to traders. In recent times, fraud has occurred in wine, olive oil, honey, fish, dairy products, meat and poultry.

Citizens may also be exposed to unfair marketing practices, especially in relation to products sold on different markets with significant differences in composition but in similar packaging.

Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport and responsible for the Joint Research Centre, will inaugurate the new knowledge centre on food fraud and food quality in Strasbourg in the presence of Vice-President for the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic and Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova.

“Food is an area where science can demonstrate directly and tangibly the benefits it brings to citizens. The quality of the food we consume matters to everyone and, given that food fraud is a transnational criminal activity, the European Union has a clear role to play in combating it,” says Navracsics.

The opening of the Knowledge Centre on Food Fraud and Food Quality is an important initiative: it will help protect the integrity of the EU food supply chain and safeguard the quality of food products, bringing clear added value for European citizens.”

“The Commission – Jourova stresses – takes the issue of food quality and unjustified product differentiation very seriously and has already taken a number of concrete measures to address the problem. In this context, better scientific evidence is essential.

The new knowledge centre, bringing together experts and knowledge from different backgrounds, both inside and outside the European Commission, will further contribute to collecting and developing science-based evidence. Its activities will also lead to the development of a common testing method, which in turn will help us to apply and enforce food safety and consumer protection legislation”.

ADUC – FI

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