Food Screening EMR: New tools for sustainably producing healthy food crops (Q4301850)
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| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Food Screening EMR: New tools for sustainably producing healthy food crops |
No description defined |
Statements
953,040.07 Euro
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1,906,080.14 Euro
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50.0 percent
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1 March 2021
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30 August 2023
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Maastricht University
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51°24'23.40"N, 6°7'21.86"E
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50°46'40.55"N, 6°4'38.82"E
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51°14'41.68"N, 5°58'13.62"E
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50°50'49.45"N, 5°41'11.90"E
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51°24'23.40"N, 6°7'21.86"E
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50°56'0.92"N, 5°20'32.32"E
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50°38'28.00"N, 5°34'33.53"E
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50°48'47.70"N, 6°58'24.13"E
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50°55'54.80"N, 5°23'42.76"E
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Recent studies by ING bank indicate that the euregional agri-food sector will suffer a moderate to severe economical blow due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we did not stop eating, the sector's dependence on export to non-EU countries has made it especially vulnerable to the economic repercursions associated with the pandemic. In addition, Wageningen University and Research have published a study last year indicating that the Dutch and euregional should re-orient to an alternative position in the international agrofood sector by broadening their trade agenda and focus more on sustainably produced, healthy food products, In this way, the euregional agrifood sector could maximally exploit their knowhow and best practices in food safety, sustainable production and creating healthy, nutrious food prodcts to improve their positioning in the global food market. Food Safety EMR aims at supporting local SMEs in this transition to a future-proof farming industry. The aim of the project is to provide these entreprises with the newest insights into best practices and technological advances by adapting a co-creation process between euregional farmers and food producers on the one hand and technological SMEs in the region and the key euregional universities on the other hand. Within this process three major routes will be explored that are regarded to be cornerstones within the agricultural industry of the future: smart sensing, innovative cultivation techniques for sustainable production of nutrious food products and creating solid legal foundations for making food and health claims. Two euregional SMEs with close connections to the local agricultural industry will collaborate with the universities of Maastricht, Hasselt and Aachen to transfer a sensing technology invented by Maastricht University in 2019 from the lab to the field. The technology has currently been validated in the lab (TRL 4) for the detection of drug molecules in unknown powders and will be expanded towards the detection of vitamins in food products. Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo will create a User Group consisting of both associated partners and non-partner industrial stakeholders in the region. Regional SMEs will be invited to participate in the project through this User Group and contribute to the development of the sensing technology and steering its application field and specifications to ensure a maximal effect on the economic competitiveness of their entreprise. This co-creation approach will ensure that the technology will be further developed within the framework of relevant agricultural case studies. The industrial demonstrator will also be tested in collaboration with the end-users using actual food samples in both a relevant industrial and operational environment (TRL 7). The Plant Environgenetics Group of UM will collaborate with the Vegetable Seed department of BASF (Nunhems Netherlands BV) to investigate new cultivation techniques. Local SMEs will participate in this part of the project through their involvment in the user-group and will learn how they can adapt their farming practices in order to create healthy food products with increased nutritional content in a sustainable manner. This will not only benefit the market position of their product range but by using cultivation techniques that require less water and nutrients, the production process becomes more sustainable and cost-effective. In addition, the Food Claims Centre Venlo of UM will investigate how SMEs can form a strong legal basis to make claims about the nutritional content of their products and the potentially associated health benefits their products bring. SMEs can communicate with the consortium through participation in the User Group to gain insighs and coaching in how they can market their products and what information they need to obtain to make health claims. This will give local SMEs a direct competitive benefit in the international market in the short run and in the longer run it will demonstrate how both the smart sensing and farming technology can be integrated into the process of building health and food claims. (English)
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