The ‘Food Facts’ project, led by the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek, aims to create a systematic methodology for fact-checking food-related disinformation. This initiative is designed to combat the estimated 30% of false information about food circulating in public discourse, primarily propagated by influencers and self-proclaimed nutrition experts. The project has received €198,000 from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and has published 147 articles debunking food myths and providing verified facts.
Ines Banjari, Vice-Dean of the Osijek faculty, noted that all 113 social media posts they checked were disinformation, with many myths surrounding crash diets, such as the unfounded “honey diet.” They also refuted the notion of tailoring diets according to blood types and investigated bizarre claims, including one suggesting that soil consumption could offer health benefits.
The project aims to correct misinformation in the media landscape, aided by the agricultural information system “Agroklub,” which recorded 36,000 active users on the project’s website, highlighting a significant interest in verified content. As a result, a handbook was developed to provide practical verification tools and educate users about the harmful impacts of disinformation on public health, the economy, and the food industry. Studies indicate that misinformation can lead to boycotts affecting sales, necessitating companies to invest resources to counteract false claims.
