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ABOUT WATSON (Project number: 101084265)
Duration: 36 months from 1 March 2023 to 28th February 2026
Coordinators: WATSON is coordinated by University College Dublin (UCD, IE)
Consortium: WATSON brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of 40 beneficiaries, 14 from EU Member States (IE, FR, IT, GR, FI, DE, PT, LU, ES, BE, AT, DK, SI, HU) and 2 countries (NO, TR).
Source of funding: WATSON has received funding from HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01, topic HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-11, and is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
AIM
WATSON aims to detect and prevent fraudulent activities throughout the whole food chain and accelerate deployment of transparency solutions where there are specific issues. Primarily, the project is exploring tools and systems that will help improve food chain sustainability by increasing food safety and reducing food fraud. These – in turn – will increase transparency through better track-and-trace mechanisms with accurate, time-specific, and protected information about food products, equip authorities and policymakers with knowledge and insights around different food chain, and raise awareness about food safety and the value of different food products amongst consumers, supporting adoption of dietary choices as well as sustainable food ecosystems.
Role of EuroFIR AISBL in WATSON
EuroFIR AISBL will contribute to describing of food chain operations for increased transparency amongst stakeholders (WP2, T2.1) and identification of stakeholders’ attitudes towards adulterated food and understanding of potential vulnerabilities (WP2, T2.2). We are also involved in development of a detailed plan to prepare and run pilot studies testing the methodological framework and systemic innovations (WP5, T5.1) as well as gathering and analysing outcomes and feedback from participants (WP5, T5.8) leading to selection of best practices and use cases demonstrating traceability and transparency (WP5, T5.9). Finally, EuroFIR is contributing to standardisation, an part of the FIWARE Foundation, OASC and other organisations, where previously separate initiatives have been merged and aim to co-create a roadmap with policy recommendations to support systematic implementation of Farm-to-Fork priorities and Green Deal initiative (WP6, T6.4)
UCD Stories of Discovery article: Dimitrios Argyropoulos (UCD) spoke about tackling food fraud and the amazing digital transformation of Irish farming.
EU AgriResearch Conference in Brussels: Dimitrios Argyropoulos (UCD) attended this event which focused on the theme of ‘knowledge, innovation and skills for sustainable horizons’. Over 500 people participated including scientists, farmers, rural communities, industry, advisors, policymakers, citizens and NGO representatives. This fantastic event explored the relevance of digital technologies for sustainability in agri food systems, emphasising the role of research and innovation in making the European Green Deal a reality for Europe and beyond.
Beyond Expo conference in Thessaloniki: Thanos Karvounis (SAH) presented Watson in the “Unlocking Horizon Europe” seminar. Project partners Grigoris Chatzikostas (FSH) and Antigolena Folina (SAH) were present at SAH’s booth and participated in interesting discussions about food safety.