Food safety in Europe has traditionally been managed through well-established standards, regulations, and monitoring systems. However, climate change is rapidly altering the environmental conditions under which food is produced, processed, and distributed. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events are reshaping biological risks across the food chain.
In this new reality, food safety cannot rely solely on historical data or isolated control points. It requires a forward-looking, integrated, and climate-aware approach.
The AMBROSIA project, Bridging Knowledge, Communication, and Action for Food Safety in a Changing Climate, was created to address exactly this challenge. Funded under the Horizon Europe programme, AMBROSIA aims to transform how food safety risks linked to climate change are assessed, predicted, and managed across the entire farm-to-fork continuum in Europe.
Climate change reshapes food safety risks
Climate change affects food safety in complex and often indirect ways. Warmer conditions can promote the growth of pathogenic bacteria, while altered rainfall and humidity patterns can increase fungal contamination and mycotoxin production. Climate-driven stresses on crops and animals can also weaken natural defenses, making food systems more vulnerable to contamination.
What makes these risks particularly difficult to manage is their cumulative nature. Climate impacts do not act in isolation; they interact with farming practices, supply chain logistics, storage conditions, and consumer handling. Existing food safety risk assessment frameworks are not designed to fully capture these interactions, especially when future climate scenarios are taken into account.
AMBROSIA responds to this gap by proposing a holistic, systemic approach to food safety risk assessment, explicitly designed for a changing climate. Rather than reacting to problems after they occur, the project focuses on anticipation, prediction, and prevention.
A holistic approach to climate-informed food safety
At the core of AMBROSIA is the idea that food safety must be assessed across the entire supply chain, from primary production to final consumption, and in close connection with climate dynamics. The project integrates expertise from climatology, agrifood science, predictive microbiology, risk assessment, and digital innovation to build a unified framework for climate-related food safety risks.
Four European biogeographical regions
The project focuses on four major European biogeographical regions: Atlantic, Boreal, Continental, and Mediterranean. These regions represent diverse climatic conditions, farming systems, and food supply chains, allowing AMBROSIA to generate results that are both region-specific and broadly applicable across Europe.
By working across these regions, the project aims to understand not only current risks, but also how risks may shift geographically as climate conditions evolve. This regional approach ensures that recommendations and tools remain relevant across Europe's agricultural diversity.
Focus on climate-sensitive hazards
AMBROSIA concentrates on food safety hazards that are both highly relevant to public health and particularly sensitive to climate conditions.
One major focus is Fusarium mycotoxins in cereal crops such as wheat, maize, barley, and oats. These toxins are produced by fungi whose development is strongly influenced by temperature, moisture, and weather variability. Climate change is expected to alter both the prevalence and geographic distribution of these fungi, creating new challenges for farmers and grain supply chains.
The project also addresses enteric pathogens, including Salmonella and Escherichia coli, in fresh produce such as vegetables and salads. These pathogens pose significant risks to consumers and are influenced by factors such as temperature, water quality, and farming practices, all of which are affected by climate change.
By focusing on these hazards and food groups, AMBROSIA targets risks that are both scientifically complex and highly relevant to everyday food production and consumption.
Climate-integrated risk assessment framework
One of AMBROSIA's central achievements will be the development of a tailor-made, holistic risk assessment framework for evaluating the impacts of climate change on food safety. This framework goes beyond traditional methods by explicitly integrating climate projections with food safety hazard models.
The project combines spatio-temporal climate models with data on biological hazards, agricultural practices, and supply chain conditions. This integration allows researchers and stakeholders to explore how future climate scenarios may influence food safety risks over time and across regions.
Rather than producing static risk estimates, AMBROSIA's framework is designed to support dynamic, scenario-based assessments, enabling better decision-making under uncertainty. This forward-looking approach represents a fundamental shift from reactive to proactive food safety management.
Digital innovation and AI-powered predictions
A defining feature of AMBROSIA is its strong emphasis on digital innovation. The project will develop and deploy a digital platform that integrates climate and food safety data with risk assessment tools into a single, user-oriented system.
Artificial intelligence, including deep learning techniques, will be used to analyze large and diverse datasets. These AI-based models will support predictive risk analytics, helping to identify emerging hazards, estimate their likelihood, and assess their potential impact.
This digital platform is not intended to be a purely academic tool. It is designed to support practical applications, such as:
- Early warning systems for emerging food safety threats
- Monitoring tools for farmers and food businesses
- Decision-support mechanisms for regulatory authorities
- Scenario planning for supply chain managers
By making climate-informed food safety intelligence accessible and actionable, the platform bridges the gap between research and practice.
From knowledge to action: the multi-actor approach
AMBROSIA is not only about generating scientific knowledge; it is also about turning that knowledge into action. The project adopts a multi-actor approach, actively involving stakeholders from across the food system, including farmers, industry representatives, researchers, regulators, and consumer-related actors.
Through communication, dissemination, and engagement activities, AMBROSIA aims to raise awareness of climate-related food safety risks and to provide strategic advice on mitigation and adaptation measures. These measures may include:
- Changes in farming practices to reduce contamination risks
- Adjustments in supply chain management to account for climate variability
- Targeted monitoring strategies for high-risk products and regions
- Improved storage and handling protocols
By supporting informed decision-making, the project contributes to building more resilient and climate-adapted food systems across Europe.
Project consortium and timeline
AMBROSIA brings together a large and diverse consortium of universities, research institutes, technology providers, and industry partners from across Europe. This diversity ensures that the project combines scientific excellence with practical relevance and real-world applicability.
The project runs for 36 months, starting in November 2024 and ending in October 2027, and is supported by a substantial Horizon Europe grant. This long-term perspective allows the consortium to address complex challenges systematically and to deliver robust, well-tested outcomes.
The collaborative nature of the project ensures that findings are relevant to different stakeholders across the food value chain, from primary producers to policymakers.
Expected outcomes and impact
By the end of the project, AMBROSIA aims to deliver:
- A holistic, climate-informed food safety risk assessment framework applicable across Europe
- Advanced predictive models linking climate change to food safety hazards
- A functional digital platform integrating climate projections, food safety data, and AI-based analytics
- Improved understanding of current and emerging food safety risks under climate change
- Practical guidance on mitigation and adaptation strategies for food system actors
Ultimately, AMBROSIA seeks to support safer food, more resilient farming systems, and better preparedness for the challenges that climate change brings to Europe's food supply. The project's outputs will help stakeholders anticipate and prevent food safety crises rather than merely responding to them after they occur.
Conclusion
In a world where climate uncertainty is becoming the norm, AMBROSIA represents a crucial step toward proactive, science-based, and digitally enabled food safety. By bridging knowledge, communication, and action, the project lays the foundation for a new generation of food safety systems, ones that are fit for a changing climate and capable of protecting both producers and consumers across Europe.
The integration of climate science, food safety expertise, and digital innovation creates unprecedented capabilities for understanding and managing emerging risks. As climate change continues to reshape agricultural landscapes and food production systems, initiatives like AMBROSIA become essential for maintaining the integrity and safety of Europe's food supply.
By supporting the development of sustainable food systems that can adapt to climate challenges while ensuring food safety, AMBROSIA contributes to Europe's broader goals of resilience, sustainability, and food security in an uncertain future.
Learn more about AMBROSIA:
- Website: https://www.ambrosia-project.eu
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ambrosia-project-eu
- Instagram: @ambrosiaprojecteu
- Bluesky: @ambrosiaproject.bsky.social
This article was developed as part of the AMBROSIA project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.