In a risk analysis framework, food chain safety measures should be objective and scientifically based. Network science-as a decision support tool-may have an important role in bringing safety to the food supply. The aim of the present work is to develop a network-based assessment methodology for Hungarian cattle holdings. The criteria of which is (1) suitable for risk-based planning in order to put resources into the most critical elements of the cattle production network; (2) should be capable of simulating different epidemiological situations in order to increase preparedness for real epidemics.