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Decontamination with Ice

Project description

DEENESFRITPL

Cooling for killing: novel eco-friendly solution eradicates foodborne pathogens

Diarrhoeal diseases are the most common illnesses resulting from unsafe food. The burden of foodborne diseases, including campylobacteriosis, is significant. In Europe, more than nine million people are infected by Campylobacter or other food bacteria every year. The poultry sector, the fastest growing meat sector today, is struggling to prevent foodborne diseases. The EU-funded ChillBact project will bring to market a new solution that can eliminate Campylobacter on chicken skin using water and ice (instead of disinfectant chemicals, pharmaceuticals and soaps). Developed by Iceland’s ThorIce, the new water–ice bacteria decontamination and chilling method will prepare to meet the expected rise in market demand. The ultimate aim is for the solution to be adopted by the major equipment suppliers in the industry.

Objective

Poultry production, the world ́s fastest growing meat sector, is facing serious problems because of the high incidence of food-borne diseases, lack of efficient cooling, ever-stricter food safety regulsation, and concerns about food waste and environmental impact. In Europe every year more than 9 million people are being infected by Campylobacter or other food bacteria. ThorIce’s new solution DeConIce shows promising results as a highly efficient cooling method and as a method for dramatic reduction of Campylobacter on chicken skin without using disinfectant chemicals, pharmaceuticals or soaps; but by using a unique combination of water and ice. It is slush-ice that cools down the chicken meat in the production. The project represents the whole value chain (research, technology provider, food industry and end-users), and is perfectly aligned to bring a completely new solution to market and ensure its cost-effective implementation into European poultry industry. The project’s objective is to finetune the technical parts of the DeConIce solution and conduct two “real-life full-scale demonstrators” at two poultry factories in France. The objective is also to secure an independent scientific and statistical analysis of the reduction of campylobacter level on chicken meat and make a risk analysis of its potential to reduce food poisoning in Europe. During the project ThorIce will update its business strategy and ramp-up production capacity to meet expected rise in demand. After completion of the FTI project, ThorIce will be well positioned to become the leading supplier of equipment for eco-friendly bacteria decontamination and chilling of poultry to the 4 major equipment suppliers to the poultry industry, Marel (IS), Meyn (NL), Baader-Linco (D) and FoodMate (US) which controls more than 80 % of the world market. With the FTI grant ThorIce can increase Speed to Market, which is vital, as there are more than 25 thousand people getting food infections every day in Europe.

Fields of science

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Call for proposal

H2020-EIC-FTI-2018-2020

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Funding Scheme

IA - Innovation action

Coordinator

THOR ICE CHILLING SOLUTIONS EHF
Net EU contribution
€ 1 263 248,00
Address
Grandagaroi 16
101 Reykjavik
Iceland

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Region
Ísland Ísland Höfuðborgarsvæði
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Other funding
€ 541 392,00

Participants (5)

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EC signature date 16 September 2020
Last update: 16 June 2022

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/958652

European Union, 2023