Project description
Innovative methods for marine and freshwater food production
Sustainability issues pose significant challenges to both the marine and freshwater sectors. One of these challenges involves the introduction of underutilised, low trophic species and the implementation of innovative processes to harness the value of waste. In this context, the EU-funded IMPRESS project aims to develop pioneering strategies that not only tackle these challenges, but also yield benefits for the environment, health, society, and the broader blue economy. The project will promote novel low trophic species (LTS) sourced from both marine and freshwater environments. It will also concentrate on the creation of inventive methods to manage by-products and extract value from waste materials. The end result will be the generation of new products, novel value chains, and enhanced services.
Objective
The overall vision of IMPRESS is to develop series of innovative actions to address key sustainability challenges associated with marine and freshwater sector from sea to shelf. These challenges include (i) valorisation of processing waste streams & (ii) utilisation and promotion of underutilised low trophic species (LTS). IMPRESS will tackle these broad challenges by meeting the following six specific objectives that collectively deliver co-benefits for environment, health, society and the blue economy. IMPRESS will promote and influence consumer perceptions towards LTS by highlighting their positive nutrition, health, environmental footprints and enhance professional skills and competences. IMPRESS will develop innovative approaches to valorise side streams and processing waste for creation of eco-friendly zero waste value chains; develop and deliver diverse range of products to address nutrition, health, wellness and consumer choices; enabling and evaluating innovative processing approaches, including beyond state-of-the-art technologies across the value chain, creating novel value for food, feed, ingredients, biopolymers and bioactives production. Finally, co-design novel, circular value propositions to accelerate the operationalisation of transition pathways ahead of future challenges, e.g. Farm to Fork 2030 goals; empower stakeholders to transition from current practices to a more innovative production and processing of LTS, using dynamic tools/demonstrations and multi-actor knowledge exchange. The key innovative actions of IMPRESS includes (i) promotion and introduction of new LTS from fresh and marine waters; (ii) develop robust valorisation routes for side streams and waste; (iii) employ energy-efficient processing and fractionation techniques; (iv) deliver new products, value chains and services. Finally IMPRESS will demonstrate circular and sustainably interlinked value chains to maximize the value creation with a zero-waste approach.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
R93 Carlow
Ireland