Project: NOVAFOODIES – Demonstration of innovative functional food production systems based on a sustainable value chain of marine and freshwater raw materials for conscientious European consumers
Start: 01/05/2023 End: 30/04/2026
Project website:  https://novafoodies.eu/
Geographical coverage area:

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under Grant Agreement No. 101084180.

DESCRIPTION: NOVAFOODIES will offer novel & competitive functional products to European consumers from a reliable, traceable, and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture value chains. To reach this, NOVAFOODIES is composed of an international consortium covering the whole value chain and expertise: production, processing, transformation, biosecurity, legislation, consumer associations, experts in business, IT, and sustainability. NOVAFOODIES will:
-Demonstrate at TRL 6-7, in 10 case studies, cost-efficient and sustainable fish, micro- and macro- algae production processes that will benefit from natural ecosystem services.
-Bring to TRL6 an innovative and sustainable microwave-assisted algae drying process to maximise efficiency and lower costs.
-Upscaling to TRL 6-7 an innovative biorefinery concept for separation of functional extracts from fish and seaweeds, which will be optimised for technoeconomic and environmental validation. 12 functional food prototypes will be prepared using these extracts as well as fish, bycatch, and algae for human products, and aquafeeds, which will be assessed in terms of properties, biosecurity, and standards and will be brought to consumers through educational activities, e.g., showcookings.
-Bring to TRL7 an innovative process to make ecological packaging material from macroalgae.
-Bring to TRL6 a process to convert the beach wrack material to invertebrate biomass for aquafeeds.
-Bring to TRL6 a process to valorise fisheries bycatchs to create novel food for human consumption
NOVAFOODIES will develop a market platform and mobile app using IoT technologies and advanced data analysis for traceability and waste optimisation along the value chain, enhancing consumers’ trust. Partners are committed to the exploitation of developed technologies, being actively involved in their dissemination and exploitation as well as education and training activities in local areas to promote socio-laboral inclusion and pave the way for the market entry of new products and processes.

HOLOSS ROLE:
Life cycle sustainability assessment (environmental impacts, economic performance, and social dimensions)