Food e-commerce is a fast-developing market. Regrettably, the number of products exchanged on the web that may be harmful to consumers is also steadily rising. This development poses challenges for controlling authorities and legislators in their mission to protect EU consumers' health and economic interests, leading to a lively discussion on the status and role of e-platforms in the age of food online. Responsibilities and liabilities in the (online) food chain are not yet clearly defined, and seem to be stuck between stringent safety regulation and immunity to promote innovation. Standing at the intersection of law, food and digital technology, 'Online platforms - new actors of the food chain' looks at the development of food online, and documents how (and whether) EU regulators and courts have been addressing the many challenges this development raises, especially in terms of food information and who is responsible for it.

Case studies on the innovative use of emerging technologies, such as 3D food printing, electronic traceability services, and multi-parameter monitors for indoor air quality, to improve the livehoods of farming communities.

Retail is ‘going digital,’ and grocery shopping is no exception. While some businesses are relaying on their corporate website to make the sale, both traditional brick-and-mortar and new disruptive business models are increasingly using online marketplaces to offer their products online. European Union law has been gradually updated to reflect this new reality, with Intellectual Property Rights legislation and Consumer Law leading the way toward a suitable regulatory framework in the Platform Economy. However, the EU has not devised a comprehensive strategy for tackling the challenges posed by the online sale of physical consumer goods, such as effective public enforcement in online environments. In fact, sector-specific legislation, including Food Law, largely ignores online transactions. In this context, the book evaluates the impact that online marketplaces are having on European Union sector-specific legislation and its e-nforcement. The goal is to assess whether the existing regulatory and policy framework are sufficient for promoting compliance and bridging the enforcement gap in the digital single market. Focusing on the e-food market, the book presents a state-of-the-art overview of how online marketplaces are altering EU law and its enforcement by public authorities.

Agriculture is one of the East African Community’s most important economic sectors. The major staple foods in the region are maize, rice, potatoes, bananas, cassava, wheat, sorghum, millet and pulses. However, agricultural production in the region is prone to the vagaries of climate change, fluctuating food prices, a rapidly growing population in the urban areas and natural resource degradation. Even though governments have intensified efforts to develop agriculture in the region, intra-regional trade in staple food grains is still very low. The main objective of the study is to provide CTA with an understanding of the salient features of the four food-grain value chains in the EAC region, and information and possible entry points about the types of commodities to be supported and the nodes of the food-grain value chains that interventions should focus on.

Agriculture is the mainstay of Uganda’s economy, contributing about 25% of the GDP, a third of the ex port earnings and almost all the country’s food requirements. Yet, the sector still faces various challenges that affect production and the income derived from it. Systemic issues impact smallholder farmers' livelihoods across markets, land, skills, and capital, with cross-cutting social exclusion issues. Effective application of digital agricultural technologies has emerged as a catalyst in addressing productivity and efficiency challenges and enhancing inclusiveness in agri-food systems. Digital technologies have shown potential to address bottlenecks in access to extension services, marketing systems, suitable financial products, reliable weather information, transport services and logistics as well as supply chain management. Scaling of digital agricultural technologies in Uganda is critical for improving productivity and addressing challenges in the agricultural sector. However, for scaling to be undertaken effectively and inclusively, there is need to address the barriers that limit the use of digital innovations for some populations. However, the issues surrounding scaling and inclusivity of digital services are not well understood. This study therefore sought to contribute to bridging this knowledge gap through an assessment of the existing digitally enabled innovative cross-value chain services to gain insights into how the services are addressing inefficiencies, creating opportunities for improving efficiency and inclusiveness as well as identifying promising innovations for scaling. Specifically, the study focused on innovations in finance and logistics for value chains. For finance, the study specifically looked at digital payments, credit, and insurance, while for logistics, the focus was on supply chain management, transportation, traceability, digital platforms for e-commerce, and (cold) storage across value chains.

Food fraud has beset governments for centuries, and the legal responses to it have been uniquely suited to the sensibilities of the time. This publication follows the concept of food fraud described to occur when a fraudster intentionally deceives a customer about the quality and/or contents of the foods they wish to purchase, and such act is done to obtain an undue advantage, most often economic, for the fraudster. The vastness and complexity of food fraud, and the versatility in regulatory approaches can challenge national governments in their attempts to develop a coherent, focused approach to food fraud. To respond to this challenge, this paper introduces the available international regulatory guidance and the potential legal strategies at the national and regional level. It identifies and analyses some of the regulatory approaches to food fraud that countries have chosen and pays attention to the role of the private sector in food fraud regulation.

the sustainability, of supply chain relationships among farmers, processors, and retailers.