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Safe Food and Feed through an Integrated ToolBox for Mycotoxin Management

Project description

DEENESFRITPL

New partnership to slash crop losses

Crop losses due to fungal and mycotoxin contamination have become a pervasive threat, endangering food security and profitability. However, a game-changing solution is on the horizon. The EU-funded MyToolBox project will mobilise a diverse partnership, including academia, farmers, technology SMEs, food industry experts and policy stakeholders, with the mission to slash crop losses by as much as 90 %. Specifically, the project will adopt a holistic approach, encompassing pre- and post-harvest interventions, genetic resistance research, predictive models and innovative technologies. Expanding beyond prevention, this initiative will address safe utilisation options for contaminated batches. Overall, MyToolBox represents a beacon of hope in the fight against fungal and mycotoxin contamination, ensuring a more resilient and sustainable future for agriculture.

Objective

MyToolBox mobilises a multi-actor partnership (academia, farmers, technology SMEs, food industry and policy stakeholders) to develop novel interventions aimed at achieving a 20-90% reduction in crop losses due to fungal and mycotoxin contamination. MyToolBox will not only pursue a field-to-fork approach but will also consider safe use options of contaminated batches, such as the efficient production of biofuels. A major component of MyToolBox, which also distinguishes this proposal from previous efforts in the area mycotoxin reduction, is to provide the recommended measures to the end users along the food and feed chain in a web-based Toolbox. Cutting edge research will result in new interventions, which will be integrated together with existing measures in the Toolbox that will guide the end user as to the most effective measure(s) to be taken to reduce crop losses. We will focus on small grain cereals, maize, peanuts and dried figs, applicable to agricultural conditions in EU and China. Crop losses using existing practices will be compared with crop losses after novel pre-harvest interventions including investigation of genetic resistance to fungal infection, cultural control, the use of novel biopesticides (organic-farming compliant), competitive biocontrol treatment and development of forecasting models to predict mycotoxin contamination. Research into post-harvest measures including real-time monitoring during storage, innovative sorting of crops using vision-technology and novel milling technology will enable cereals with higher mycotoxin levels to be processed without breaching regulatory limits in finished products. Research into the effects of baking on mycotoxin levels will provide better understanding of process factors used in mycotoxin risk assessment. Involvement of leading institutions from China are aimed at establishing a sustainable cooperation in mycotoxin research between the EU and China.

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Topic(s)

Call for proposal

H2020-SFS-2014-2015

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Sub call

H2020-SFS-2015-2

Funding Scheme

RIA - Research and Innovation action

Coordinator

UNIVERSITAET FUER BODENKULTUR WIEN
Net EU contribution
€ 969 634,00
Address
Gregor mendel strasse 33
1180 Wien
Austria

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Region
Ostösterreich Wien Wien
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Other funding
€ 0,00

Participants (23)

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EC signature date 9 February 2016
Last update: 29 August 2023

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/678012

European Union, 2023