The WASTELESS project will develop and test a mix of innovative tools and methodologies for Food Loss and Waste (FLW) measurement and monitoring. A bottom-up approach will be followed: starting from defining an harmonised methodological framework and set of standards for the testing activities, the evaluation of the tools implementation and the quality and integrability of the data produced in other frameworks and finally recommend sustainable policies and business strategies to set the ground for a harmonised Framework at EU level. Additionally to the measurement and monitoring tools, WASTELESS will carry research activities on innovative processes and streams to valorise unavoidable FLW. With the ambition to make existing FLW quantification solutions and WASTELESS ones usable by all food actors, it will be developed a Decision Support Toolbox for any stakeholders to access to the most appropriate methodology, digital tools and solutions for FLW valorisation all that aggregated with the Environmental and Socio-Economic impact associated to the implementation of the solutions. This will enable the replication of data collection hubs accross Europe feeding the model developed by JRC with robust, reliable and comparable FLW data.

The SWEET project has been designed to i) identify and address the barriers and facilitators to the use of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers (S&SEs) and ii) examine the risks and benefits of using S&SEs to replace sugar in the diet in the contexts of health, obesity, safety and sustainability. Industry experts will integrate technological, health and sweetness databases to provide a platform on which new and emerging S&SEs can be selected for inclusion in food products. The behavioural and physiological impact of specific S&SEs will be examined in acute and repeated dosing studies and natural population differences (by age, region, gender etc) in sweetness perception established. A sensory profile will be developed and genetic determinants assessed. The core randomised controlled trial will adopt a whole diet approach to examine the impact of prolonged sugar replacement on weight control, appetite and energy intake. Underlying mechanistic effects of S&SE use, alone and in combination, will be evaluated using the technology platform developed in acute studies. Outcomes relating to safety and overall health risks will be i) measured in acute and chronic studies and ii) investigated in secondary data (long term interventions, prospective cohorts). The preferences for and perceptions of S&SEs within European consumers, and the barriers to their acceptance, consumption and use will be determined. The environmental cost and sustainability of replacing sugar with S&SEs will also be modelled. Consumers will be engaged to inform research design, and stakeholder driven exploitation and impact plans will be developed to communicate and disseminate project objectives and results to i) address the role of sweeteners in weight control for target audiences (consumers, health professions, scientists, policy makers, regulators) and ii) move effective products nearer to market. A gender action plan will be developed and implemented to promote equity across all research activities.

The overarching objective of EU-MERCI is to support, in a coordinated way, the growth of energy efficiency in industry processes. It will develop methods and tools for assisting EU industry in the effective implementation of energy efficiency improvements and in the monitoring of the energy savings, in application of the 2012/27/EU Directive. The methodology will be based on the analysis of thousands real energy efficiency projects implemented according with the current energy policies and measures in different MSs and dealing with tenths of different industry sectors and processes. Energy efficiency solutions will be typified according with agreed criteria concerning applications, processes and technologies: best practices, algorithms and procedures of efficiency assessment will be derived, harmonized and standardized. The goal is to answer the questions: what are the most effective actions improving the efficiency in a particular process or industry sector? How to specifically implement them? What are the most promising technologies? What is the efficiency improvement attainable with each action? How to measure, monitor and report the savings? What are the associated costs? EU-MERCI, with recommendation and specific dissemination actions, will also assist policy makers and public authorities in the assessment of the effectiveness and transparency of the mechanisms, giving them also a picture of the technologies and efficiency improvements to incentive. Lessons learned from countries with consolidated energy efficiency schemes in place will be transferred to countries less advanced. The outputs of EU-MERCI will be specifically validated for the agrifood industry at a pan-European level. Finally, it is expected that, as a result of the assistance to industry, the number and effectiveness of energy efficiency improvements will greatly increase, thus contributing to the attainment of the EU and national energy goals.