The environmental impact of packaging has become a major concern for the food industries, packaging, safety agencies but also consumers. This circular economy will force manufacturers to lighten packaging, recycle and/or reuse it, which implies having the same requirements in terms of health safety as for virgin materials. Indeed, materials in contact with foodstuffs (FCM) can transfer constituents to food by migration. In addition to substances of known origin, FCMs can also contain Non-Intentional Substances (NIS) (impurities, decomposition or reaction products, contaminants resulting from recycling, etc.), often of unknown and unpredictable origin. Most SNIs are neither identified nor quantified, and their toxicity has not been studied. This migration can pose a risk to human health, it must be measured and controlled. European Regulation 10/2011 on plastic materials also requires a risk assessment of SNIs, but to date there is no specific guideline or scientific consensus, making it difficult to assess and manage their risks. In addition, SNIs can be present in all packaging; recycled paper-cardboard, coatings, these can release more substances than their virgin equivalent. The evaluation of MCDA is currently only based on a study of the genotoxicity and the systemic effects of the starting substances, not taking into account endocrine disruption, nor the "cocktail effects" at low dose. Regarding SNI, it is recognized that the traditional approach based on the identification and quantification of all substances followed by their full toxicological characterization is not feasible (in terms of costs, time, quantity available, etc.). A relevant approach consists in using biotests in addition to analytical and physicochemical techniques on all of the substances which migrate. Biotests are already used with mixtures. However, they need to be better characterized in terms of sensitivity / specificity and robustness with complex extracts of MCDA. The first stage of this project will consist in selecting the most sensitive and specific biotests to identify a hazard (genotoxicity or endocrine disruptor) in packaging extracts by applying the “spiking” methodology, which consists of adding reference substances ( positive and negative) in order to verify the expected response. The extract will be split if the answer is a false negative or a false positive, in order to identify the responsible fraction containing the substances causing the unexpected effect. The second step will consist of testing the selected biotests using extracts from finished packaging that have been subjected to particularly SNI-generating processes (including recycled materials) to assess the risk. The innovative nature of this project is to use in parallel, chemical signatures of MCDA extracts and robust biotests in order to generate a database allowing decision-making and packaging security at different stages of their cycle of production life. In addition, it will generate data on the toxicity of new SNIs as well as potential "mixing" effects of the extract. Resulting from a multidisciplinary scientific approach, this project will help packaging manufacturers and their customers (processors, food industries) (1) to better guarantee the safety and conformity of their materials and (2) to encourage their innovation and / or their competitiveness, by offering them relevant and reliable scientific tools.

Our societies are at a crossroads between several alternatives. The end of single plastic packaging is scheduled in France (~2030) and Europe (~2040). Cellulosic materials such as paper and cardboard are today the only viable bio-sourced alternative, biodegradable and already 70% recycled, which can reach a mass market. The contamination of recycled cellulosic fibers with a fraction of carcinogenic substances from printing inks and solvents has, however, become a major concern for consumer health. The German (2017, 2019) and French (2019) authorities have activated the precautionary principle to reduce our exposure to these substances. The situation can be described as critical because the transfer to food can occur without contact, through the plastic layers. Both primary and secondary packaging (American crate) and transport packaging are sources of contaminants. Current analytical techniques can hardly assess the level of contamination of food products on the market because of their lack of sensitivity and the presence of food constituents hindering their detection. The FOODSAFEBIOPACK project offers THREE significant contributions. (1) The transfer conditions will be exhaustively qualified by food type and modality for packaged foods sampled from the market by using a new design of migration cells enabling humidity control, freezing, and oven heating. (2) The relationships between the structure of fibrous assemblages, the structure and composition of foods, and the transfer mechanisms of complex mixtures of substances from printing inks will be investigated from the nanoscale (20 nm) to the macroscopic scale using novel nano/micro-tomographic techniques, multispectral imaging and multi-scale numerical simulations. (3) A preventive and comprehensive approach to the risk of contamination will be proposed thanks to a water-based deposition of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). This technological solution not only preserves the recyclability and initial biodegradability of the materials but also greatly improves the barrier properties of the fibrous materials to liquids and gases to compete directly with plastic materials. The MFC layer sizing and risk assessment rules will be integrated into predictive tools compatible with the approaches already used to demonstrate compliance of plastic packaging (10/2011/EC) or to design food packaging. The results and deliverables (28) will support the harmonization of regulations for paper and board for food contact in Europe, as well as future testing standards. The development of new types of eco-designed and safe packaging is within reach, especially as the wet deposition technology for MFCs is already patented by one of the partners. The cost is 2 to 4 times cheaper than a solution with a plastic layer. The structure-property relationships and computer-aided evaluation will allow the MFCs to be optimized for packaging, overpackaging, and dry or fatty foods. The consortium involves four complementary partners. Two academic laboratories specialized in the study of material transfer and materials in contact with food (INRAe Massy, coordination), and the characterization and modeling of microstructures (University of Grenoble Alpes). The French national reference laboratory on materials in contact with food (LNE, Trappes) and the technical center for paper and board (Grenoble) will combine their experience and expertise to provide practical solutions to the food, paper & board, and retail sectors.

Nowadays, population ageing represents a major social and public health challenge. It is characterised in particular by an increase in the vulnerability of seniors to physiological and metabolic disorders which may be due to poor diet. Different factors can be linked to this malnutrition: socio-economic context, sensory deficit, loss of appetite, oral problems or even reduced mobility. If preventive nutrition throughout life is essential in limiting the occurrence of diseases linked to ageing, it is also essential to be able to offer a specific diet adapted to seniors (sensory and nutritional enrichment, modified textures, adapted portions, etc. ) in order to prevent these disorders. In this context, this project aims to develop a new approach integrating the involvement of key players (from farmers to seniors) during the design and development phases of food products adapted for seniors. The objective will be to take into account multiple constraints related to the food product to be designed (agronomic, nutritional, technological or sensory), but also related to the multiplicity of actors involved. Participatory research will be conducted with the actors of this food system: farmers, food science researchers, culinary chefs, sociologists, dieticians and non-dependent seniors, in order to better understand and integrate their behaviours, needs, preferences and to identify levers to develop adapted food.Different associations will be involved in the project: Alim50+ for séniors, Institut Paul Bocuse for chefs and Terre et Cité for farmers. This study will be a proof of concept for the implementation of participatory research to design healthy, sustainable and appreciated food products, integrating the stages of multi-stakeholder ideation and co-creation, the construction and implementation of a dissemination and communication plan for the results, as well as the validation of the acquisition of knowledge by the stakeholders involved.

Reducing food loss and food waste is an important axis for improving the food chain sustainability, especially since by-products generated by the food industry represent a great deposit of renewable raw materials. A potential application for their sustainable valorization would be as stabilizing agents in Pickering emulsions (i.e. stabilized by solid particles), allowing to avoid the use of synthetic surfactants replaced by un-cracked materials. CLEVER’s objective will be to reveal the potential of vegetal food by-products powders as a renewable source of unmodified, unfractionnated and unpurified ingredients in clean-label Pickering emulsions. The project is aiming for applied research that will benefit to the whole supply chain, for various food sectors. It will benefit from the producers of the by-products (alternative way of valorization with high added-value), to the consumers (higher naturalness, easier-to-read recipes or formula, circular valorization), including the formulators of the newly created emulsions (food applications as well as cosmetics or other bioproducts). We will develop a multi-actor strategy, combining interfacial and biomaterial science, experimental design and modeling, reverse engineering from desired functional properties of the final products towards process and formulation levers, sensory science and consumer acceptance of the by-products-stabilized emulsions.

Cereal grains are the most important renewable resource for human food and animal feed. About 55% of the 35 MT French wheat production is exported each year making France a major actor on the international market. However, French wheat has to face the production of other wheat growing countries whose agronomical practices favour low production prices and/or high protein content of grains, one of the main quality criteria of wheat. EVAGRAIN focuses on the technological facet of the wheat quality defined as the ability to meet expectations for a given end-use. Measuring the technological quality is crucial for determining the market price, but besides the protein content, very few other criteria are actually used. Yet, wheat quality is complex, especially as agricultural trends change: i) climate change imposes increasing abiotic constraints on crops and ii) new sustainable agricultural practices arise from the market and societal demands. As a result the harvest quality and quantity get more heterogeneous which has significant adverse consequences on the agri-food chain, from storage to bakery product quality. Clearly a more robust and versatile evaluation system of grain quality is needed to answer the quality demand for a large range of uses, to anticipate more severe quality variations consecutive to global warming and to compete on the international market. The ambition of EVAGRAIN is to design a Decision Support System (DSS) which can integrate knowledge about wheat quality and deliver plausible interpretations of quality tests results: i) for various end-uses in industry and ii) based on analytical data. A second objective is to explore innovative analytical quality tests. Finally, a third objective is to support knowledge transfer from cereal science and technology to economic actors of the cereal sector. To reach these objectives the DSS will involve model-based assessment systems allowing comprehensive accounts of the dependences between the behavioural properties (protein aggregation capacity, dough visco-elasticity…) and the quality criteria (dough stickiness, bread loaf volume, biscuit colour…). The final DSS will integrate knowledge and data about grain and cereal products from different sources as database, literature, existing models, experts…Especially, research in cereal science has shown that beyond the content and nature of the proteins other grain components, such as lipids and pentosans, but also water status can deeply influence the technological behaviour of grains and the cereal product quality. The project will investigate these compounds allowing to establish possible relationships with protein behaviours and grain quality. This new knowledge will be integrated to the DSS to improve its performances. The final system will be implemented as a web-tool, usable by any actor of the cereal sector eager to assess the quality of wheat grain with three major outputs: -The prediction of the quality of wheat with respect to end-use. - An explicit account of the reasoning underlying the prediction of quality - An assessment of the uncertainty of the outcomes. EVAGRAIN is an interdisciplinary project that combines modelling approaches, experimental research and technological developments. A strong expertise on wheat quality is gathered from the institutional and industrial partners of the project, which will be reinforced by a scientific and technical advisory committee selected from VegepolysValley stakeholders. The food industry is facing a growing need for process optimization based on detailed resource characterization. This project will pave the way for the development of new standards to qualify wheat grain by promoting new assessment practices. EVAGRAIN's operational development will be limited to bread-making and biscuits, for which there are more data from the literature and the expertise of EVAGRAIN's partners.