Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GIANT LEAPS (Gap resolutIon in sAfety, NuTritional, alLergenicity and Environmental assessments to promote Alternative Protein utilization and the dietary Shift)
Période du rapport: 2022-09-01 au 2024-02-29
A transition from animal-based to alternative protein diets is key to reducing environmental impacts and improving human health. It has been estimated that agriculture is responsible for 11% of total EU GHG emissions. The major impacts of the current food system on GHG emissions, biodiversity, land and water use, and animal welfare, could be mitigated by a dietary shift from traditional animal-based towards more sustainable protein sources, simultaneously improving the health and well-being of people, animals and the planet.
The objective of GIANT LEAPS is to deliver the methodologies, datasets and innovations required to accelerate the adoption of healthy and sustainable alternative proteins and actualise a dietary shift across Europe, in line with the Farm-to-Fork strategy and contributing to the Green Deal target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Achieving the dietary shift is inherently complex due to the diverse set of actors involved and further hindered by major knowledge gaps – scattered across the various alternative protein sources and the domains of health (safety, allergenicity and digestibility), environment (GHGs and other environmental and climate impacts, biodiversity, circularity), and/or barriers to adoption (technological, sensory, and consumer acceptance). The GIANT LEAPS consortium addresses relevant knowledge gaps to arrive at optimised future diets based on alternative proteins that are broadly accepted across stakeholder groups. In order to deliver required insights for short-, mid- and long-term decision making and impact, nine GIANT LEAPS protein sources have been selected for either targeted or full assessment based on their current level of specification.
The overall ambition is for 50% of total European protein dietary intake to be derived from plant or alternative protein sources by 2030, as a stepping stone to reach more substitution by 2050. This ambition will be made possible by generating methodologies and comprehensive datasets, and by providing information and solutions on the optimal utilization of a wide range of alternative proteins to enable:
- Policymakers to prioritise changes in the food system towards the dietary shift based on desired impact,
- Value chain actors to make strategic scientific, business and investment choices,
- The general public to make more sustainable and healthy dietary choices.
The objective of GIANT LEAPS is to deliver the methodologies, datasets and innovations required to accelerate the adoption of healthy and sustainable alternative proteins and actualise a dietary shift across Europe, in line with the Farm-to-Fork strategy and contributing to the Green Deal target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Achieving the dietary shift is inherently complex due to the diverse set of actors involved and further hindered by major knowledge gaps – scattered across the various alternative protein sources and the domains of health (safety, allergenicity and digestibility), environment (GHGs and other environmental and climate impacts, biodiversity, circularity), and/or barriers to adoption (technological, sensory, and consumer acceptance). The GIANT LEAPS consortium addresses relevant knowledge gaps to arrive at optimised future diets based on alternative proteins that are broadly accepted across stakeholder groups. In order to deliver required insights for short-, mid- and long-term decision making and impact, nine GIANT LEAPS protein sources have been selected for either targeted or full assessment based on their current level of specification.
The overall ambition is for 50% of total European protein dietary intake to be derived from plant or alternative protein sources by 2030, as a stepping stone to reach more substitution by 2050. This ambition will be made possible by generating methodologies and comprehensive datasets, and by providing information and solutions on the optimal utilization of a wide range of alternative proteins to enable:
- Policymakers to prioritise changes in the food system towards the dietary shift based on desired impact,
- Value chain actors to make strategic scientific, business and investment choices,
- The general public to make more sustainable and healthy dietary choices.
The GIANT LEAPS project started in September 2022 with a successful kick-off meeting in Wageningen with the 34 consortium partners and representatives from the European Commission.
The project’s external Stakeholder Board was set up during the proposal phase. Several interactive workshops were organised in the first 18 months to discuss the content and plans for all Work Packages (WPs) and address specific topics, including the development of a framework for sustainability assessments, defining future diets, and the development of policy briefs on topics relevant to alternative proteins and the dietary shift.
Within the first six months, seven deliverable reports were completed on topics related to project organisation and the approach to ethical issues in relation to human studies, human cells & tissues, protection of personal data, non-EU countries and Artificial Intelligence.
A pilot study in Switzerland and follow-up study across four countries, spanning North, East, South and West regions in the EU, were performed on consumer perception regarding a large number of specific protein sources applied in meat and dairy alternatives to identify the most promising protein sources from a consumer perspective to contribute to the dietary shift. The results were shared with other WPs and will be published as soon as possible.
Alternative protein ingredients derived from the project’s shortlist were distributed between Consortium partners. Techno-functional and sensory characteristics were analysed for all ingredients (20 in total) and results will inform next steps to functionalise the proteins and create food prototypes. A first screening of the in-vitro digestibility of eight protein ingredients was performed and five protein sources were selected to create risk assessment scenarios for a safety-by-design approach. These risk assessment scenarios are being prepared for publication after expert and stakeholder consultations.
A protocol for data collection and an ontology for data integration were created to ensure that the data generated in the WPs can be captured and integrated successfully into the Data Platform, as well as data from project-external sources. The Data Platform is designed, currently in alpha version, to make the data openly available and accessible by the end of the project.
Current food consumption in 28 European countries was analysed to evaluate nutritional adequacy and quality, and environmental sustainability. Results were grouped to represent North, East, South and West regions in Europe. Four scenarios were developed and indicators for health and environmental impact were selected that will be used to define future optimised diets.
A range of dissemination materials was created in the first year for use across a range of communication channels and social media. GIANT LEAPS joined the Horizon4Proteins initiative, collaborating with other EU-funded projects on alternative proteins, to maximise impact through joint communication and dissemination activities. Various manuscripts describing project results were submitted to peer-reviewed scientific journals, two have been accepted for publication, and GIANT LEAPS objectives and results were disseminated in numerous scientific conference presentations. A special session was held at the 2023 EFFoST meeting in Valencia, featuring six scientific presentations and a panel discussion. Additionally, six practice abstracts were published.
The project’s external Stakeholder Board was set up during the proposal phase. Several interactive workshops were organised in the first 18 months to discuss the content and plans for all Work Packages (WPs) and address specific topics, including the development of a framework for sustainability assessments, defining future diets, and the development of policy briefs on topics relevant to alternative proteins and the dietary shift.
Within the first six months, seven deliverable reports were completed on topics related to project organisation and the approach to ethical issues in relation to human studies, human cells & tissues, protection of personal data, non-EU countries and Artificial Intelligence.
A pilot study in Switzerland and follow-up study across four countries, spanning North, East, South and West regions in the EU, were performed on consumer perception regarding a large number of specific protein sources applied in meat and dairy alternatives to identify the most promising protein sources from a consumer perspective to contribute to the dietary shift. The results were shared with other WPs and will be published as soon as possible.
Alternative protein ingredients derived from the project’s shortlist were distributed between Consortium partners. Techno-functional and sensory characteristics were analysed for all ingredients (20 in total) and results will inform next steps to functionalise the proteins and create food prototypes. A first screening of the in-vitro digestibility of eight protein ingredients was performed and five protein sources were selected to create risk assessment scenarios for a safety-by-design approach. These risk assessment scenarios are being prepared for publication after expert and stakeholder consultations.
A protocol for data collection and an ontology for data integration were created to ensure that the data generated in the WPs can be captured and integrated successfully into the Data Platform, as well as data from project-external sources. The Data Platform is designed, currently in alpha version, to make the data openly available and accessible by the end of the project.
Current food consumption in 28 European countries was analysed to evaluate nutritional adequacy and quality, and environmental sustainability. Results were grouped to represent North, East, South and West regions in Europe. Four scenarios were developed and indicators for health and environmental impact were selected that will be used to define future optimised diets.
A range of dissemination materials was created in the first year for use across a range of communication channels and social media. GIANT LEAPS joined the Horizon4Proteins initiative, collaborating with other EU-funded projects on alternative proteins, to maximise impact through joint communication and dissemination activities. Various manuscripts describing project results were submitted to peer-reviewed scientific journals, two have been accepted for publication, and GIANT LEAPS objectives and results were disseminated in numerous scientific conference presentations. A special session was held at the 2023 EFFoST meeting in Valencia, featuring six scientific presentations and a panel discussion. Additionally, six practice abstracts were published.
The GIANT LEAPS project is in its early stage, therefore many of the results beyond the state of the art are work in progress. Significant achievements to date include:
- completion of the Sustainability Assessment Framework, addressing biodiversity and ecosystem services, circularity potential and climate change adaptation,
- finalized detailed assessment of current EU dietary protein intake and defining four future scenarios,
- defining the ontology for data integration and completing the alpha version of the Data Platform that will be used to collect existing public and project-generated data.
- completion of the Sustainability Assessment Framework, addressing biodiversity and ecosystem services, circularity potential and climate change adaptation,
- finalized detailed assessment of current EU dietary protein intake and defining four future scenarios,
- defining the ontology for data integration and completing the alpha version of the Data Platform that will be used to collect existing public and project-generated data.