Description du projet
Une solution innovante capable de détecter les contaminants dans les chaînes de valeur des fruits et légumes
Les inspections de fruits et légumes sur les sites de production et les installations de traitement des denrées alimentaires sont souvent effectuées sur des lots aléatoires à l’aide de techniques dont les résultats peuvent prendre jusqu’à quelques jours. L’analyse des données recueillies lors de ces inspections, en plus d’être chronophage, peut également s’avérer onéreuse, ce qui se traduit par une réduction des contrôles, ce qui, à son tour, augmente le risque de contamination microbiologique et chimique. Pour remédier à ce problème, le projet GRACED, financé par l’UE, vise à mettre au point un capteur innovant qui permettra un contrôle plus rapide, rentable et fiable de la qualité et de la sécurité des aliments dans les chaînes de valeur des fruits et légumes, qui sera validé dans différents systèmes de production et de distribution.
Objectif
As consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables (F&V) continues to increase, so does the risk of microbiological and chemical contamination. Currently, inspections for F&V are carried out at the production site or the food processing facility, based also on regulatory requirements. In most cases these are inspections of random batches using laboratory techniques, which may require up to two or more days before getting results. The time and cost per analysis leads to reduced checks and thus, elevated risks, even in countries with very efficient control mechanisms. Furthermore, such analysis cannot take place in all parts of the value chain (due to time requirements, but also due to associated cost), including supermarkets or restaurants, which are critical points since this is where the consumer will get the products from. GRACED considers the aforementioned need and the limitations of current techniques and proposes a novel solution for contaminants detection in all stages of the F&V industry value chains. The heart of the proposed solution is a novel plasmo-photonic bimodal interferometric sensor, combined with low cost on-chip light generation, capable of simultaneously and quickly detecting different analytes of interest. The sensor will be part of holistic, modular solution that exploits unique engineering designs, IoT concepts and advanced data analytics, for the early detection of contaminations in the F&V value chains. The approach will be validated in different production & distribution systems: a) a conventional farming system in open-air farms and the follow-up steps of food processing for preparing cooked meals and frozen vegetable packages, b) a novel, urban farming ecosystem, producing F&V locally and using them in in-situ restaurants, c) a short value chain based on agro-ecology and direct distribution from farmers to consumers & restaurants, d) a semi-automatic farm producing mushrooms and distributing them to supermarkets & wholesalers.
Champ scientifique
Not validated
Not validated
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturehorticulturefruit growing
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturehorticulturevegetable growing
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinateur
1060 Lefkosia
Chypre
L’entreprise s’est définie comme une PME (petite et moyenne entreprise) au moment de la signature de la convention de subvention.