Project: Sustainable technologies and methodologies to improve quality and extend product shelf life in the Mediterranean agro-food supply chain

Acronym	FRUALGAE (Reference Number: 2019-SECTION2-14)
Project Topic	The present proposal has a triple helix conformation as there are three core strands that are interlinked namely: 1) reducing losses and waste in the agro-food value chain, 2) management of water and 3) capacity building at multiple levels. Context-adapted solutions will be developed to reduce post-farming food losses and waste (FLW) by extending the shelf life of high-value Mediterranean food products, tomatoes and leafy vegetables. It targets technologies, i) to extend the shelf life and quality post-harvest, ii) develop quality and authenticity monitoring tools, iii) reduce waste by applying non-plastic, biodegradable packaging solutions based on agricultural by-products, iv) assess the sustainability of the new packaging solution in comparison to common used food packaging and v) integrate ICT technology for cold-chain control using low-cost, innovative time temperature integrators (TTI) and develop a freshness biosensor to test and implement horizontal and vertical tools to improve sustainability of the agro-food value chain. The project is a nexus between two PRIMA-SIRA priorities, 1) the agro-food value chain (reducing, minimizing and recycling) and 2) management of water by integrating an innovative solution, microalgae production, using one of the most problematic by-products of hydroponic cultures, nutrient and mineral rich waste water. Hydroponic greenhouse culture is popular for tomatoes and soft fruits and is expanding to other Mediterranean crops. “Proof of concept” for water bioremediation, will be established using microalgae and the well-established tomato culture regime. The high value microalgae biomass will be used for the development of new biotechnological products and applications targeted towards the food industry (antioxidants and other bioactive molecules and enzymes). The long-term ambition will be to move the microalgal water recycling concept to demonstration scale in follow-up projects/actions.
Network	PRIMA
Call	Section 2 Call 2019 - Multi-topic

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Agricultural University of Athens	Coordinator	Greece
2	National Technical University of Athens	Partner	Greece
3	PROTYPES YDROPONIKES KALLIERGIES MESOLOGGIOU I.K.E.	Partner	Greece
4	University of Bonn	Partner	Germany
5	Alexandria University	Partner	Egypt
6	University of Modena and Reggio Emilia	Partner	Italy
7	Lebanese American University	Partner	Lebanon
8	Centre for Marine Science	Partner	Portugal