Food & Healthy Diet

An EU-funded project is developing tasty, nutritious and filling food to help people control their weigh. Among the project’s contributions so far – it has created a screening platform that allows researchers to collect data on food elements that satiate appetites. The approach provides an opportunity for food manufacturers to create new, competitive products for the market.

EU-funded researchers have created a unique database and screening tools to monitor the levels of contaminants in seafood and their effects on consumer health. Coupled with rapid screening tools, their work promises to greatly improve the food safety of each fish, shellfish and mollusc on European dinner tables. Commercial application of the screening tools is potentially on the table.

A new EU-funded project will monitor breath, saliva and other symptoms of heart failure (HF) and send smartphone alerts to HF patients every time they find themselves in a critical situation.

According to research, 90% of people who are advised to change their lifestyle after a serious medical event, fail to do so. To help them, experts from the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and a hospital in Taiwan will link inputs from medical devices, nutritional sensors, doctors and consultants, thus creating a new health ecosystem that puts the user at the centre.

An EU-funded project has developed an online network to encourage global collaboration in research and innovation on food safety. The project’s network, online information portal and research aim to improve food safety in Europe and reduce health risks.

For three decades, the EU Framework Programmes have been funding breakthroughs across Europe. RTD’s Horizon Magazine looks at the people and events that have helped shape European research policy, taking you behind the scenes during the pivotal moments from the last 30 years of research funding. These articles have been brought together into a special Horizon supplement to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Framework Programmes.

Horizon 2020 has started, a new game with new rules. What are the experiences so far? What has improved? What new obstacles and challenges have appeared? Are there already best practices we can learn from?

With the support of the European Research Council (ERC) "Proof of Concept" grants, 59 researchers in Europe will now get the chance to turn their inventions into viable products.

Mycotoxins – produced by fungi – contaminate about 25 % of food crops worldwide, according to the latest estimates. Detecting contamination quickly and reliably is essential for food safety, as mycotoxins could be transferred to bread, for instance, making it unsafe to eat. The MYCOHUNT project developed a system that can sniff out mycotoxins almost immediately. It is expected to be on the market within two years.

This year, the EU stand in the World of Science and Technology (Stand number 30 in the Industries Hall) has a special focus on Food Research - so drop in and find out more about what the EU is doing in the area of Food Research - we look forward to meeting you!

How can research in food and diets address how we will live and eat in 2050? By supporting the move towards individualised diets; by ensuring the sustainability of the future food system; by improving our understanding of links between food, nutrients and health; and by focusing on integrated policy-making. These are the main findings of a new foresight report that will support work done under Horizon 2020, the EU's Funding Programme for Research and Innovation for 2014-2020.

Due to the high interest raised by this event, the venue capacity has been reached and registration is now closed. For those who didn’t manage to book their place on time, the event will be web cast on the Bioeconomy website.

The European Union (EU)-funded research project MusselsAlive has created better methods for handling, transporting, storing and reducing waste in the mussel industry. In particular, the team has developed new holding systems that can help keep the mussels fresher for longer on their journey to the consumer.

Global demand for food is expected to increase by 70% by 2050, while a steep increase in biomass use will also put pressure on agriculture. Feeding the world without damaging the environment is the focus of World Food Day 2014 – and the goal of several EU-funded research projects.

Around one third of all food for human consumption is lost or wasted along the supply chain according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). A European Union (EU)-funded research project, NovelQ, has developed new processing technologies to keep food fresh over a longer period of time, potentially saving the billion tonnes of meat, fish, fruit and vegetables that might end up being thrown away each year.

In the food industry, a cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain that ensures and extends product shelf life. This chain is vital as 60% of the food we eat needs to be kept in cool temperatures to stay fresh. Despite its obvious need, refrigeration uses 8% of all energy and is responsible for 2.5% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Reducing this energy use and its resulting emissions is crucial.

Food processers have struggled to produce low-fat versions of cheese and cheese-based products without much success. Taste, texture and other properties tend to suffer once natural fats are reduced in many foods. Thanks to the three-year EU-funded project CHEESECOAT, processors can now meet the demand from health- conscious consumers for a low-fat cheese with the flavour, texture and melting properties of traditional mozzarella.

HighTech Europe team has created a pioneering network to channel scientific and technological advances to benefit the European food sector.

We have all experienced the disappointment. Opening a box of expensive praline chocolates with pleasurable anticipation - only to discover that they appear to have gone off, even though it is well before their 'use-by' date.

ESOF2014 offers a platform where researchers, journalists, policy makers, students and organisations can meet and debate European research and global challenges.

The 2014 meeting is entitled “Science Building Bridges”. The aim of this event is to raise awareness of science in the public and to strengthen the effective “bridges” between science and society.

The scientific programme, covering 8 themes, consists of keynote lectures, seminars, workshops and engaging formats for debating the latest research.