Emerging Food Safety Risks in Europe Take Centre Stage at HOLiFOOD & FoodSafeR Final Conference

Last Updated : 26 March 2026

Brussels, 26 March, 2026 — Leading scientists, policymakers, industry representatives and early-career researchers from across Europe will gather on 10–11 June 2026 at Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands) for the final conference of the EU-funded HOLiFOOD and FoodSafeR projects.

Bringing together expertise from across the food system, the conference will present key scientific outcomes and explore how Europe can better anticipate and manage emerging food safety risks.

“As global food supply chains become more complex, new food safety risks are emerging. Advanced digital tools, including artificial intelligence, are essential to detect these risks earlier and support more effective and sustainable food safety systems," said Nathan Meijer, Scientific Researcher at Wageningen Food Safety Research.

Addressing emerging food safety challenges
Food systems are becoming increasingly complex due to global supply chains, new production technologies and changing consumption patterns. These developments create new challenges for detecting and managing food safety risks. The conference will showcase how both projects have developed innovative tools, data-driven approaches and multidisciplinary collaborations that strengthen Europe’s readiness for future food safety challenges.

Conference highlights
“This conference will present new indicators and tools to better identify microbial and chemical food safety risks, alongside a holistic framework for proactive risk management. It brings together expertise from across the HOLiFOOD and FoodSafeR projects to support more resilient food safety systems in Europe," said Rudolf Krska, Head of the Institute of Bioanalytics & Agro-Metabolomics at BOKU and coordinator of the FoodSafeR project.

The programme will explore key themes including:

• Artificial intelligence and data-driven prediction of emerging hazards 
• Co-design of food safety tools through multi-stakeholder collaboration 
• A digital hub providing information, guidelines and advice on emerging risks 
• Food safety challenges in novel and low-regulated food production systems 
• Advanced analytical and detection methods for chemical and microbiological hazards 
• Holistic risk assessment approaches for resilient food safety management 

Call for posters
Researchers and professionals are invited to submit posters for presentation during the conference poster sessions. These sessions are designed to foster direct exchange between presenters and attendees, offering a visible platform for new results and ideas. More information on poster submission is available here.

Participation
The conference is open to:

• Researchers 
• Food safety professionals 
• Policymakers 
• Industry stakeholders 
• Students 

Registration details and full programme can be found here.

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Background 

HOLiFOOD 
A four-year project funded under Horizon Europe, HOLiFOOD has introduced a holistic approach to transform food safety risk analysis in Europe, combining next generation data analytics, AI enhanced early warning systems and collaborative living labs to support proactive hazard detection and resilient risk management. 

FoodSafeR 
FoodSafeR has focused on advancing methodologies and tools that improve the prediction, detection and management of chemical and microbiological hazards — integrating analytical innovation with stakeholder engagement to strengthen Europe’s food safety architecture. 

Contact 

For media and further information, please contact:

• Debora Serra (EUFIC): Project communication lead - debora.serra@eufic.org