Stricter food safety laws have been/are being implemented around the globe to minimise largely preventable foodborne diseases that currently afflict over 600 million people a year. A major challenge in verification processes is the inability to guarantee a finished food product is pathogen free. By monitoring and verifying the parameters that have been set are actually effective during food manufacturing, companies can minimise microbial risk. Accordingly, Novolyze is developing FoodSafetyGuardian (FSG) - the first cloud-based software solution that integrates with equipment already in place at manufacturing plants, to collect data in real time for continuous analysis. FSG uses algorithims to determine if a change in set parameters (e.g. a specified temperature) should trigger an alarm or whether it is not a risk at the specific stage of food processing. FSG is the first platform that performs this level of analysis in real time. It also allows for add-ons such as a hygiene monitoring platform (HMP) to analyse cleaning and sanitation operations within a factory environment. The aim of this EIC project is to complete development of software for FSG and the HMP and then test it amongst customers. These products are expected to streamline and transform the food safety market. Novolyze aims to take FSG and the HMP to TRL8. Following commercialisation activities post-EIC, both products will be ready for market entry. Novolyze then aims to dominate an estimated total, global addressable market, valued at EUR 457m by 2023. The company has grown its organisation to ensure they have the expertise and competencies with the team to complete development in the EIC project and eventually launch the products on the market. This will lead to accelerated growth for the company. The current project is therefore central to the company’s long-term vision and growth.

PROTEIN2FOOD’s aim is to develop innovative, cost-effective and resource-efficient plant proteins –rich food sources with positive impact on human health, the environment and biodiversity. The quality and quantity of protein from selected highly nutritious seed crops (quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat), and legumes with high protein quantity (lupin, faba beans, pea, chickpea, lentil) will be significantly enhanced by using a multi-disciplinary approach that will include genetic, agronomic, food process engineering, sensory, socio-economic, and environmental assessment. Research is expected to improve the quality of plant proteins, produced in Europe, and of the sustainability of their production and processing. Through a better understanding of the: i) genetic mechanisms driving the protein formation and accumulation in the seed, ii) plant performance towards biotic and abiotic stresses, and iii) protein interactions with other components in the food matrix and its sensory repercussions in the final food products, this research should lead to the development of adapted plant protein sources with positive impact on environment and biodiversity as well as human health. Expected results in the project are: i) enhance the protein production by 25% through new effective breeding techniques and optimised crop management with an increase by 10% of the EU’s arable land destined to protein-crop production, using also marginal soils, ii) accelerate protein transition from animal-based protein to plant based protein in Europe with clear impact on reduction of carbon footprint, iii) increase EU agro-biodiversity by introducing promising high quality crops and legumes. Further, activities will support the prototypes of new protein-rich-protein food with exceptional market potential. Finally, we will improve the EU’s visibility in the area of food processing and technology through high impact factors scientific publications.

Although microorganisms dominate almost every ecological niche in our planet, it has only been during the past 10-15 years that we have begun to gain insights into the composition and function of microbial communities (microbiomes) as a consequence of major advances in High Throughput DNA sequencing (HTS) technologies. These approaches have allowed a comprehensive analysis of microbiomes for the first time. Following initial curiosity-driven investigations of microbiomes using HTS technologies, the field has evolved to harness the insights provided, leading to the development of a new multi-billion euro industry focused on characterisation and modulation of microbiomes. The vast majority of this investment has been in the clinical space. In contrast, far less is known about microbiomes across complex food chains, making it difficult to harness food-chain microbiome data for the development of more sustainable food systems and to yield innovative products and applications. This is despite the evident importance of microbes throughout the food chain. MASTER will take a global approach to the development of concrete microbiome products, foods/feeds, services or processes with high commercial potential, which will benefit society through improving the quantity, quality and safety of food, across multiple food chains, to include marine, plant, soil, rumen, meat, brewing, vegetable waste, and fermented foods. This will be achieved through mining microbiome data relating to the food chain, developing big data management tools to identify inter-relations between microbiomes across food chains, and generating applications which promote sustainability, circularity and contribute to waste management and climate change mitigation. We will harness microbiome knowledge to significantly enhance the health and resilience of fish, plants, soil, animals and humans, improve professional skills and competencies, and support the creation of new jobs in the food sector and bioeconomy.