Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
The cascade funding call for proposals related to OnFoods Spoke 04 is open until January 25, 2024, and is focused on fundamental research, industrial activities, and experimental development.
The financial allocation for this call, provided by the University of Milan as the Implementing Entity of Spoke 4, amounts to €4,180,000.
88% of the amount (equivalent to €3,680,000.00) is for research activities to be carried out in one or more regions in the Southern Italy, specifically Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardegna, and Sicily.
The remaining 12% of the funding (€500,000.00) can be used for research activities in the other regions of Central and Northern Italy.
40% of the total funding can be allocated to research activities conducted by public and private research organizations, while 60% is designated for businesses (SMEs and large enterprises).
The call is open to research partnerships external to OnFoods and must consist of a minimum of 3 partners up to a maximum of 6.
While production is responsible for over a quarter (26%) of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), it is estimated that the share of greenhouse gases emitted by the global food system may be even higher (around 34% of total greenhouse gases). This includes not only the contribution of processing processes but also post-sale activities, such as consumer food preparations and the impact of food waste.
The global availability and quality of food also influence human health on many levels. According to the latest WHO report, contaminated food causes 600 million cases of foodborne diseases and 420,000 deaths annually. Therefore, food safety is crucial. Equally important is the consideration that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) cause 41 million deaths annually, accounting for 71% of all global deaths. A healthy and accessible diet is of crucial importance in reducing this burden and the associated healthcare costs.
In this context, OnFoods (Research and Innovation Network on Food and Nutrition Sustainability, Safety, and Security – Working ON Foods) has sought to develop a holistic approach capable of implementing synergy among various disciplines, ranging from social and legal sciences to agricultural economics, food chemistry, food technology and engineering, logistics, microbiology, marketing, human nutrition, and many medical disciplines.
Furthermore, the connection between research institutions and industrial partners is key to promoting research and development activities that can have implications in the production context, generating an impact on the various pathways leading to virtuous and sustainable development of different food systems with repercussions on the environment, population well-being, and the overall socio-economic system.
All Spokes conduct their research activities independently while being deeply interconnected and operating in perfect complementarity to promote dialogue among different disciplines and approaches and amplify potential outcomes.
There are six general objectives that the OnFoods project commits to achieving within 36 months:
Specifically, Spoke 4 conducts research activities aimed at enhancing food quality and nutrition to better meet the needs and expectations of the modern consumer. This is achieved through food reformulation, the development of innovative and sustainable technologies, and a new approach to food design that safeguards nutrition and health at the population level. It also considers possible inter-individual differences and responses to food intake and dietary patterns, which are fundamental to personalized nutrition approaches.
Furthermore, as defined in the project, the research and development activities of Spoke 4 are expected to contribute to the achievement of five sustainable goals:
To achieve the various general and specific objectives, Spoke 4 has promoted various research and innovation themes within the OnFoods project aimed at supporting the development of innovative solutions at various levels, including strong public-private partnerships and, in some cases, collaboration with other Spokes. In this regard, one of the objectives of Spoke 4 is to further promote strategic project activities that can increase the impact of research and innovation achievable within the project's 3-year duration, stimulating the creation of new partnerships between businesses and research organizations for some of the core themes of the Spoke.
Specifically, as reported in the OnFoods project, the approaches developed may include the use of new or implemented (bio)technologies to improve the quality, safety, and nutritional characteristics of products, including the reduction of any antinutrient compounds or the enhancement of certain ingredients or raw materials. The improvement of products can also take into account consumer acceptability.
Research activities may involve prototyping and/or scaling up of new sustainable and healthy products to meet the needs of different consumer targets. They may also aim to improve the sensory characteristics of healthy foods that are less consumed due to being perceived as less acceptable or to meet the needs of new dietary trends (e.g., ready-to-eat products).
The innovation generated should increase the availability of sustainable food and dietary patterns, thereby increasing the chances of long-term adoption by consumers. It should also enable the availability of new virtuous processes for sustainable production.
The project proposals submitted may include numerous final research deliverables that may need to be added to one or more of the deliverables planned within the scope of Spoke 4 (WP4.1 - https://onfoods.it/SPOKEs/SPOKE-04/wp-41; WP4.4 - https://onfoods.it/SPOKEs/SPOKE-04/wp-44) of OnFoods.
In addition, large-scale distribution plays an increasingly significant role through numerous private-label catering and production services.
Improving the quality and sustainability (environmental, nutritional, and economic) of food/meals produced in these activities (e.g., through ingredient and preparation selection or service improvement) could have a significant impact on consumers and the entire sector.
Furthermore, these activities can leverage smart methodologies and new strategies aimed at promoting consumer awareness and inclusion in the realm of food sustainability, in addition to providing nutritional information.
Activities may include an analysis of the overall quality of food in collective catering in its broadest sense, aiming to redirect it toward sustainable and nutritionally beneficial diets/menus/products. This could also involve the opportunity to develop personalized offerings based on various potential consumer targets.
The project proposals submitted may include several research final products (deliverables) that may need to be added to one or more of the deliverables planned within the scope of Spoke 4 (WP4.1 - https://onfoods.it/SPOKEs/SPOKE-04/wp-41) of OnFoods.
Such approaches will enable the redirection of agri-food production systems towards circular economy models, obtaining new innovative foods/ingredients/supplements from by-products and waste of agri-food supply chains, reducing waste, and valorizing specific by-products and commodities that would otherwise be destined for disposal.
Activities may involve the use of green technologies for the extraction of bio-compounds, the development of new high-nutritional-value foods/ingredients, and new smart packaging to preserve the quality characteristics of fresh products.
The project proposals submitted may include numerous research final products (deliverables) that may need to be added to one or more of the deliverables planned within the scope of Spoke 4 (WP4.1 - https://onfoods.it/SPOKEs/SPOKE-04/wp-41) in connection with Spoke 2 (WP2.1 - https://onfoods.it/SPOKEs/SPOKE-02/wp-21 and WP2.2 - https://onfoods.it/SPOKEs/SPOKE-02/wp-22) of OnFoods.
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