A global food/feed/bio ingredients manufacturer with a European R&D Centre in Belgium is looking for partners to work on HORIZON-CL6-2024-FARM2FORK-01-2

In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environment‑friendly food system, and the EU’s climate ambition for 2030 and 2050, the successful proposal will support R&I to develop new food products and processes in conventional or organic production systems. These new products should be healthier and overall more sustainable and based on natural ingredients, tasty appealing to the consumer, affordable and minimally processed.

They should also optimize nutritional, structural and functional food properties of raw materials to enhance health and well-being benefits for EU and Associated Countries citizens and have a low impact on the environment/climate. This will contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits for climate, biodiversity, environmental sustainability and circularity, the shift to healthy and sustainable diets, safe food, food poverty reduction and empowerment of communities, and thriving businesses.

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

• New knowledge that the food industry can use in the design of new healthy and sustainable food products and processes to improve health and well-being of EU and Associated Countries citizens and with low impact on the environment/climate.
• Alignment in goals of consumers and food solution providers with more healthy, tasty, minimally processed, affordable and sustainable food.
• New market and job opportunities for sustainable food SMEs and industries.

Several studies in adults found a strong scientific concordance between consumption of ultra-processed foods and a higher risk of developing cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Evidence is accumulating from mechanistic studies of the plausible causal pathways by which the physical structure and chemical compositions of these foods might cause harm. Additives or cocktail of additives could play a role in the incidence of NCDs and further R&I are needed. It is now widely accepted that a diet rich in plant-based food, such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrain cereals, legumes and nuts, may reduce the incidence of chronic diseases and is also beneficial against obesity and metabolic diseases. Further research is necessary to determine how the structural characteristics of plant-based foods deliver health benefits in modulating digestibility and in improving bioavailability of nutrients and how the physical structure may be modified by processing.

Please, visit the following page to get more information regarding this call: https://www.developmentaid.org/grants/view/1047638/new-healthy-and-sustainable-food-products-and-processes