The Food Defence Research Centre is an interdisciplinary research centre working to develop methods to detect and mitigate threats and attacks on the food system. Our research focues on four types of warfare: chemical, biological, economic and information warfare. We are dedicated to strengthening the capabilities of both public and private sector actors within the food system to recognize and manage antagonistic threats.

The centre is a collaboration between the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), the Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA), the Swedish Food Agency (SLV) and the Swedish Board of Agriculture (SJV). It is funded through a grant from the government research council for sustainable development, Formas.

Growing vulnerabilities in trade systems and supply chains, combined with escalating geopolitical tensions, underscore the urgent need for strategic preparedness in the food system — particularly against deliberate antagonistic threats. Deliberate antagonistic actions during war and peacetime can be used to compromise the food supply, aiming to create disruption or secure strategic advantages.

Grounded in scientific evidence, our goal is to develop new methods and strengthen the operational capacity of key food system stakeholders to detect and counter deliberate chemical and biological threats, while raising awareness and managing the interconnected challenges of economic disruption and information warfare.

We bring together researchers, experts, industry stakeholders and government actors in defence, food safety, food fraud, plant and animal production, and disease management to establish food defence as a recognized and leading research discipline in Sweden.

Our research focues on four main types of warfare:

Biological Warfare

In a time when natural pathogens can be weaponized, our mission is to prevent, predict, and protect. In collaboration with Umeå University, we're advancing epidemiological surveillance by combining cutting-edge eDNA technology with traditional monitoring efforts and computational modelling.

Leveraging an air-based system originally designed to detect nuclear activity, we've gathered eDNA data spanning decades and all types of biological organisms. This enables reconstruction of natural dynamics and potentially near real-time monitoring of diseases and pathogens.

Our approach not only tracks plant and animal diseases but also builds predictive models to anticipate outbreaks, climate effects, and biological attacks. By mapping pathogen behaviour and genetics, we aim to strengthen Sweden’s food security and global bio-defence.

Chemical Warfare

Currently, detecting potentially hazardous substances in food or drinking water relies on analytical methods that require prior knowledge of the specific chemicals to be identified. In this track the centre is focused on developing new techniques that enable analyses without the need for prior knowledge of the substance in question. This advancement significantly enhances the ability to detect the intentional release of chemical warfare agents or other harmful chemicals.

Rapid detection of toxic chemicals in food and feed is essential to reduce harm and prevent attacks. The Food Defence Research Centre brings together several Swedish government agancies to develop advanced, non-targeted methods for identifying both known and unknown contaminants. This work will deliver faster, more accurate chemical analyses, strengthening Sweden’s food security and supporting global defence against chemical threats.

Economic Warfare

Economic warfare has the potential to severely impact food security, through trade manipulation, sanctions, and market control. Within the Centre we analyse the potential economic consequences of information, biological, and chemical warfare on the Swedish food sector. This includes direct effects such as loss of production and revenue caused by biological or chemical attacks, as well as indirect effects like trade barriers and sanctions arising from actual or rumoured contaminations in Swedish food production.

We focus on two key areas: assessing the economic fallout from such attacks and developing future scenarios to explore and improve mitigation strategies. By combining policy analysis, historical and current insights, and scenario planning, we help shape a resilient economic defence tailored to the current complex global landscape.

Through this work, the Centre supports the Swedish food sector and policymakers in preparing for and responding to economic threats that could disrupt food production and trade.

Information Warfare

In this track our research focuses on information warfare targeting the food sector. We conduct empirical research on previous intersections of information warfare and the food sector under conflict and war, especially examining the Russo-Ukrainian war. Additionally, we examine the responses of government agencies and non-governmental actors to these information warfare operations targeting the food sector, and evaluate the effectiveness of their actions.

Both the Russo-Ukrainian war and peacetime crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate the multifaceted role information plays in times of conflict and crisis, acting both as weapon and shield. Yet, contingency planning often overlooks the information front. Information warfare is rarely mentioned in the food preparedness context, despite its possible impact upon the food sector.

Gaining deeper knowledge of the threats facing such an essential sector is crucial for enhancing overall societal resilience and our research aims to fill critical gaps in understanding and managing information threats, ultimately strengthening societal resilience in the face of evolving challenges.

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