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KEEP-IT-UP: Redefining shelf life monitoring in the global food industry with a new intelligent Time-Temperature Indicator for perishable products

Project description

A revolutionary shelf-life monitor measures time and temperature of products in the cold chain

Most packaged food products come with a label informing consumers of the expiration date. When it comes to the cold supply chain, food spoilage is critically dependent on temperature as well. The Norwegian SME Keep-It Technologies has developed an indicator that relies on a patented chemical process to monitor the time since production and the temperature to which the product has been exposed. The solution will reduce food waste, prevent foodborne infections and minimise manufacturers’ financial losses. The EU-funded KEEP-IT-UP project will support the company in optimising the product and production line to begin international expansion.

Objective

Keep-it Technologies AS (Norway) is a fast-growing company backed up by an outstanding team of 23 experts in food retail, brand building and product development. We have developed the Keep-itUp Time-Temperature Indicators, using a patented chemical process to measure the time and the temperature to which a product has been exposed to. These provide continuous and quantitative information (in days left to spoilage) of fresh food and ready-to-eat meals’, according to the temperature they are exposed to over time, thus introducing the concept of planning in consumption for the first time: when a product is kept at proper temperatures, it allows the extension of its shelf life in 5-6 days. Although a first version of Keep-itUp indicators has been already produced in small scale in Norway the feedback confirms that there is a lot of room for improvement. The goal of the Keep-itUp project is to increase accuracy, adapt them to different types of food products and target markets’ needs, to optimize their production line, and to seek further international expansion. The Keep-itUp project responds to two pressing needs: reducing food waste (an EU priority) and the quality assurance of food, as it regulates the spread of foodborne illness. Keep-itUp will contribute to a more suitable food future, by reducing food waste and will help its end-users (consumers) to improve their consumption habits, thus reducing food waste; will help retailers increase their profits by guaranteeing the quality of products sold through different stages of the cold-chain; and allow producers to increase their ROI, reduce food losses and deliver higher quality products. With Keep-itUp we will reach our sales objective of 300M units/year, thus growing our revenues to €12.76 million by 2022, while creating 47 new direct jobs. The project has an estimated ROI of 4.01 per euro invested

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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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.

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

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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) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017

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Coordinator

KEEP-IT TECHNOLOGIES AS
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.

€ 50 000,00
Address
STROMSVEIEN 323A
1081 Oslo
Norway

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Norge Oslo og Viken Oslo
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.

€ 71 429,00
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