Safe Food Advocacy Europe

What Safe Food Advocacy Europe does

Safe Food Advocacy Europe (SAFE) is a Belgian-registered non-profit association (A.S.B.L., BCE 0578.909.064) headquartered in Brussels that represents consumer interests in EU food safety, nutrition, environment, and inclusion policy. Its primary constituents are European consumers and the network of 40+ consumer advocacy organizations, vegan societies, permaculture institutes, and academic bodies that comprise its membership. The organization engages in policy advocacy on legislative files including the Nitrates Directive, NGT regulation, Food and Feed Safety Omnibus, and pesticide policy, while publishing press releases and an EU Elections 2024 manifesto setting out 10 policy priorities.

SAFE's core consumer-facing product is BiteWatch, a mobile application for iOS and Android developed with software partner Lizard Global under the EU4Health-funded Preventia project. The app integrates the third-party Open Food Facts database to provide barcode-driven product information covering sugar, salt, saturated fat, additives, vegan/vegetarian status, and NOVA processing classification, alongside a domain-specific additive risk evaluation (potential/moderate/low) and a percentage-based matching score against user preferences. SAFE's distribution also includes the SAFE Bites podcast on Spotify, a YouTube channel, and online publications.

The organization has no commercial revenue stream. It is funded by the European Union through the ESF+ Operating Grant (ESF-2021-OG-NETW-NGO-SGA) and via the Preventia project under EU4Health. Its go-to-market is community-led: mobilization of its member federation and public campaigns to influence EU policymaking, supported by digital content and media relations.

Name

Safe Food Advocacy Europe

Legal name

Safe Food Advocacy Europe A.S.B.L.

Website

https://safefoodadvocacy.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Safe Food Advocacy Europe is a Brussels-based non-profit (A.S.B.L.) that advocates for EU food safety policy on behalf of European consumers and its 40+ member organizations, and operates the BiteWatch consumer product-scanning app built on Open Food Facts data.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Food Safety Advocacy

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Education, Risk Communication & Public Advisories (HLAJAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Safety Inspection & Enforcement (HLAJAEAA), Product Safety, Consumer Protection & Market Surveillance Cooperation (BPADANAN), Labeling & Claims Compliance Review (Nutrition, Allergen, Country-of-Origin) (AFALADAF)

Keywords

• Consumer food advocacy
• Food safety policy
• Nutritional information apps
• EU food regulation
• Consumer rights NGO

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. EU Operating Grant: SAFE is financially funded by the European Union in the framework of the ESF+ Operating Grant. The organization also developed the BiteWatch app as part of the Preventia project financed by the EU4Health programme.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Safe Food Advocacy Europe (SAFE) is a Brussels-based non-governmental organization that advocates for consumer interests in EU food policy across health, environment, and inclusion themes. It operates a network of 40+ member organizations across Europe and runs the BiteWatch mobile application, which scans food products to display nutritional content, additive risks, and NOVA processing classifications using the Open Food Facts database. The organization also publishes policy positions, press releases, a podcast (SAFE Bites), and EU election manifestos to influence food safety regulation.

Product overview

Safe Food Advocacy Europe (SAFE) is a non-governmental organization representing consumer interests in food safety across the European Union. The organization operates BiteWatch as its primary consumer-facing product - a mobile app that scans food products and provides detailed nutritional and additive information to help consumers make healthier, more informed food choices. The app integrates with the Open Food Facts database and offers features including matching scores for user preferences, additive risk assessments, and NOVA food processing classifications. SAFE also produces a podcast called SAFE Bites and publishes advocacy content, but these are informational outputs rather than product offerings. The organization is funded by the European Union under the ESF+ Operating Grant and EU4Health programme.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BiteWatch: A mobile app developed as part of the Preventia project (EU4Health programme) that helps consumers make informed food choices by scanning products and providing information on additives, sugar, salt, saturated fat content, and NOVA processing levels.
• SAFE Bites

Products and services

• BiteWatch Mobile Application

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lizard GlobalcoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftware development partner that developed the BiteWatch app by request of and through an agreement with Safe Food Advocacy Europe. Lizard Global is responsible for technical development and uses Google Analytics and UXCam for anonymized analytics.
• Open Food FactscoreTechnology or IntegrationIndependent and publicly available food database that provides the product data used by BiteWatch app for nutritional information, additive data, and NOVA processing classifications.
• Accademia Italiana di PermaculturaminorOthersItalian Academy of Permaculture - member organization of SAFE network.
• Action on SugarminorOthersUK-based campaign group working to reduce sugar consumption - member organization of SAFE network.
• The Vegan SocietyminorOthersUK-based vegan advocacy organization - member organization of SAFE network.
• ProVeg PortugalminorOthersPortuguese plant-based food advocacy organization - member organization of SAFE network.
• Czech Consumer Association (Sdružení českých spotřebitelů)minorOthersCzech consumer rights organization - member organization of SAFE network.
• Lithuanian Consumer InstituteminorOthersLithuanian consumer advocacy institute - member organization of SAFE network.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Open Food Facts: Open Food Facts is the open, crowdsourced food product database that powers BiteWatch. It is comparable as an enabling infrastructure provider in the consumer food-transparency ecosystem and also operates its own consumer-facing scanning app, making it both a partner and an adjacent competitor to SAFE.

Direct peers

• European Public Health Alliance (EPHA): EPHA is a Brussels-based NGO coalition advocating for public health interests in EU policy, including food safety, nutrition, and additives. It is a direct peer to SAFE given shared Brussels base, coalition model, EU policy focus, and overlapping nutrition/health mandate.
• Yuka: Yuka is the leading European consumer food-scanning mobile app that scores products on nutritional quality and additive risk. It is the closest direct competitor to SAFE's BiteWatch app given the overlapping product-scan-and-score functionality and target European consumer audience.
• Foodwatch International: Foodwatch is a European consumer advocacy NGO focused on food safety, additives, and transparency, with national branches in Germany, Netherlands, Austria, and France. It competes with SAFE for media attention, policy influence, and donor/member attention in the same EU food-advocacy niche.
• BEUC - Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs: BEUC is the umbrella European consumer organization representing 45+ national consumer groups in Brussels. It is the most direct functional peer to SAFE given shared EU-level consumer advocacy remit, similar Brussels base, and policy engagement with the European Commission and Parliament.

Regional players

• Which?: Which? is the UK's leading consumer advocacy and product-testing organization, with active campaigns on food safety, labelling, and additives. It is a UK-based peer in the same European consumer-advocacy space as SAFE despite operating in a post-Brexit regulatory context.
• Altroconsumo: Altroconsumo is Italy's largest consumer association and a member of BEUC, conducting product testing and food safety advocacy. It is comparable to SAFE as a national-level consumer advocacy organization that engages on food safety issues and is part of the broader SAFE/BEUC coalition ecosystem.
• Test Achats / Test Aankoop: Test Achats is the leading Belgian consumer organization, also based in Brussels, conducting product testing and policy advocacy. It shares SAFE's Brussels location and consumer-advocacy mission, and both are part of the Belgian/EU consumer advocacy ecosystem.
• UFC-Que Choisir: UFC-Que Choisir is France's largest consumer association with extensive product testing and food safety advocacy. It is comparable as a national consumer-rights NGO with similar advocacy, transparency, and additive/product-safety positioning to SAFE.

Emerging players

• ProVeg International: ProVeg is a pan-European plant-based food advocacy organization with Brussels presence and active engagement in EU food policy (including alternative proteins and NGT regulation). It is comparable to SAFE as a Brussels-based food-policy advocacy NGO with overlapping sustainability and consumer-choice missions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SafeFoodEurope
• Facebookfacebook.com/SAFEFoodAdvocacy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safe-food-advocacy-eu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Safe Food Advocacy Europe