Objective
Functional foods incorporating probiotic bacteria with scientifically supported health claims have great potential for improving the quality of life and already constitute a rapidly growing EU and export market. The European food industry, however, is facing an alarmingly growing competition on the European and International markets from large American and Japanese food producers. However, considerable confusion and scepticism exists on the side of consumers, consumer organisations, and scientific community about the claims associated with probiotic products. This greatly hampers further exploitation of functional foods from probiotic bacteria and weakens the market position of European producers in the face of competition. To eliminate these hurdles, speed up adaptation of the probiotic food technology and enhance the attractiveness of new probiotic foods, it is essential to demonstrate the up-to-date basis for marketable claims by :
- presenting the health and nutritional benefits of probiotic bacteria and foods,
with special emphasis on intestinal integrity and immune modulation;
- exploiting validated methods for the selection of novel probiotic bacteria and
foods, and
- disseminating the obtained knowledge to the extended audience consisting of
both industries, authorities and consumers.
The project will be divided into four interactive tasks :
- selection and verification of probiotic strains;
- pilot testing by clinical human trials in children and adults;
- demonstration of probiotic properties and fermentation technologies to establish
the desired effects;
- dissemination of knowledge to extend audiences.
The clinical trials and novel methods to measure health beneficial claims are essential for making approval of such claims possible by the authorities and to obtain sound information for the public consumer. The stated objectives will be realised by a consortium of leading European food industries experienced in the production of probiotic foods and multidisciplinary research groups in the Nordic, central and southern EU countries, covering expertise in the fields of medicine, microbiology, immunology and molecular biology. In addition, an industrial and consumer platform including SMEs will be formed to guarantee the interaction between science and industrial exploitation.
The project is an essential extension of previous R&D programmes of the EU and Nordic countries. The results are disseminated in demonstration workshops and are expected to convey to the consumer the credibility of health beneficial claims of functional foods from probiotic bacteria.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology other engineering and technologies food technology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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.
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.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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.
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.
Coordinator
02044 ESPOO
Finland
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.