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POLLUTION UNDERSTANDING AND REDUCTION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE FOOD AND DRINK INDUSTRIES

Objective

The food and drink industry sector is an essential pillar of Europe’s economy, culture, and food security. Yet, it is also a significant source of environmental pressures, with pollution emissions spanning water, air, and soil. Besides traditional pollutants such as organic matter, nutrients, and odorous compounds that have long been addressed, there is growing concern over emerging and less-known pollutants such as microplastics, PFAS, ARG, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. These substances may persist in the environment, accumulate through the food chain, and produce adverse effects on ecosystems and human health, and even act in combination through “cocktail” effects, but knowledge on their impact is currently limited. In addition, knowledge on pollutant pathways and hotspots is fragmented, hindering effective prioritisation of mitigation measures, while available treatment technologies are not always adapted or optimised for the specific contaminant profiles generated by different sectors. In this context, and with increasing pressure to meet public and policy expectations for sustainability and transparency, an integrated holistic approach that combines rigorous scientific assessment, harmonised monitoring methods, real-world demonstration of solutions and active multi-actor engagement is required.
PURE-FOOD directly aims to address these challenges through six case studies across the EU and beyond, covering different food and drink industries sub-sectors: poultry (Norway), dairy (Greece), brewery (Spain), table olive processing (Greece), potato processing (Belgium), aquaculture (Colombia). Our consortium gathers experts in advanced technological solutions for water treatment, quality monitoring and pollution control, as well as specialists in ecotoxicity assessment, BAT and stakeholder engagement to ensure that the project contributes to increased knowledge of pollution, mapping, methods developed to measure and reduce it, and healthier diets and biodiversity.

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL6-2025-01

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Coordinator

VLAAMSE INSTELLING VOOR TECHNOLOGISCH ONDERZOEK N.V.
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 606 750,00
Address
BOERETANG 200
2400 Mol
Belgium

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Region
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Antwerpen Arr. Turnhout
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 606 750,00

Participants (15)