Reducing pollution from the food and drink industries

Topic updates

18 September 2025

PROPOSAL NUMBERS

Call HORIZON-CL6-2025-01 has closed on 17/09/2025

515 proposals have been submitted.

The breakdown per topic is:

·HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-07  :          16

Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in January 2026.

11 June 2025
Please note that due to a technical issue, during the first days of publication of this call, the topic page did not display the description of the corresponding destination. This problem is now solved. In addition to the information published in the topic page, you can always find a full description of the 7 destinations (Biodiversity and ecosystem services; Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption; Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors; Clean environment and zero pollution; Land, ocean and water for climate action; Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities; Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal) that are relevant for the call in the Work Programme 2025 part for “Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment”. Please select from the work programme the destination relevant to your topic and take into account the description and expected impacts of that destination for the preparation of your proposal.

Reducing pollution from the food and drink industries

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-ZEROPOLLUTION-07

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: Cluster 6 Call 01 - single stage (HORIZON-CL6-2025-01)

Type of action: HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions

Type of MGA: HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]

Status: Open for submission

Deadline model: single-stage

Opening Date: 06 May 2025

Deadline dates: 17 September 2025 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Expected Outcome:

In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the zero pollution action plan, chemical strategy for sustainability, farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environment‑friendly food system, the biodiversity strategy for 2030, notably its objective of reducing pollution, and the EU’s climate ambition for 2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support R&I to reduce pollution coming from food systems (and eventually stop it). This will contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co‑benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity, environmental sustainability and circularity, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction, empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses.

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• better understanding of the pollution coming from the food and drink industry;
• all food and drink industries have methods at their disposal to measure their pollutants emissions and to reduce them from the source;
• contribution to the food 2030 priorities: nutrition for sustainable healthy diets, climate, biodiversity and environment, circularity and resource efficiency, innovation and empowering communities.

Scope:

Food systems, on the one hand, are a source of pollution and, on the other hand, suffer from the consequences of pollution. Moving towards zero pollution food systems can therefore contribute to building the resilience of food systems and the natural ecosystems on which they depend. Contaminants have been accumulating in food products, whether due to food being in contact with specific materials at various stages of the food supply chain, such as food processing plants, packaging, or in agriculture with contaminated soils, air and water.

In the context of the Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive and the relevant Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions for the food, drink and milk industries, some data are already available. However, there are currently several knowledge gaps when it comes to emerging and/or less known pollutants, and their cocktail effects on the environment and human health.

Some activities of the food and drink industries can lead to soil, water and air pollution, which can, in turn, adversely affect food safety, biodiversity and human health. This pollution can take many forms: plastics (including micro- and nano-plastics), food packaging, persistent chemicals, light, noise, odour, etc. There are significant regional differences in the impact of environmental pollution, depending on the type of pollutant. While European and national strategies remain important to reducing pollution, international cooperation is key to ensure that efficient and impactful measures are put in place to protect our oceans and inland waters, ecosystems, biodiversity and health.

The proposals are expected to:

• focus on food and drink industries’ processes and on pollutants (including emerging pollutants) typically coming from these industries;
• develop analytical methods, e.g. using the Environmental Footprint method, to measure pollutants and studying/mapping the pollutants coming from food and drink industries that are not covered in the Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions for the food, drink and milk industries and how they interact with each other (mixture of pollutants);
• propose monitoring/tracking methods for pollutants coming from food and drink industries, focusing on less-known and emerging pollutants specific for food and drink industries and taking into account the diversity of these industries;
• identify the most effective methods/best available technologies to reduce food-system-related pollution (in soil, water and air) from food and drink industries, focusing on the most relevant/prominent pollutants (the ultimate objective being to eventually stop pollution);
• develop activities for empowering consumers (e.g. communication, awareness raising);
• develop activities for ensuring adequate involvement of researchers, national agencies/authorities and laboratories, as well as food and drink industry (incl. strategic innovation platforms and federations).

This topic contributes to the European Green Deal priorities, the zero pollution action plan, chemical strategy for sustainability, farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environment‑friendly food system, the biodiversity strategy for 2030, notably its objective of reducing pollution, and the EU’s climate ambition for 2030 and 2050. The successful proposal will contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co‑benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity, environmental sustainability and circularity, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food, food poverty reduction, empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses.

For any activities on depollution to achieve zero pollution in large industrial installations and contribute to the climate ambition, please refer to the Innovation Centre for Industrial Transformation and Emissions (INCITE) (https://innovation-centre-for-industrial-transformation.ec.europa.eu/).

Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach by involving a wide range of food system actors and conducting multi-disciplinary research (including on environmental science and biodiversity). International cooperation is strongly encouraged.

Where relevant, activities should build and expand on the results of past and ongoing research projects. Projects should have a clear plan as to how they will collaborate with other projects selected under this topic and any other relevant topic or relevant EU partnerships. They should participate in joint activities, workshops, focus groups or social labs, and common communication and dissemination activities, and show potential for upscaling. Applicants should plan the necessary budget to cover these activities.

Start submission

To access the Electronic Submission Service, please click on the submission-button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to your proposal. You will then be asked to confirm your choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, you will be linked to the correct entry point.

To access existing draft proposals for this topic, please login to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section.

Get support

Please read carefully all provisions below before the preparation of your application.

Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.

Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.

Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.

Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.

National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’).

Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.

IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.

European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.

CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.

The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.

Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.