MENUTECH: Automated allergen labeling and translation for restaurant menus

Project Information

MENUTECH

Grant agreement ID: 826923

DOI 10.3030/826923

Closed project

EC signature date 31 July 2018

Start date 1 August 2018

End date 31 January 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost € 71 429,00

EU contribution € 50 000,00

Coordinated by

MENUTECH GMBH
Germany

Objective

17 million Europeans suffer from a food allergy, particularly children under 5 years old 1 . This is a
growing public health concern, as the hospital admissions for severe allergic reactions in children
increased 7 fold in the last 10 years 2 . 7 out of 10 allergic reactions occur when people eat outside from
their homes, including 20% of these happening in schools 3 . The European Food Information Council
has replaced 7 and amended 2 directives on nutrition, food safety and allergen labelling. As a result, it
is no longer possible for hotels, restaurants and caterings to provide information on dishes causing
allergies or intolerances only and simply upon request by the consumer. The information on 14
allergens must be provided in written form. The main challenges faced by companies providing guest-
friendly, multilingual and legally compliant food and beverage menus are the lack of (1) time, (2)
resources and (3) technical expertise.
Menutech is a Software as a service (SaaS) which automates the preparation of food menus: it
automates allergen declaration, menu translation and menu design leveraging machine learning
technologies powered by a rich database of dishes. The Menutech software, which is compliant with
EU FIC 1169/2011 regulation, comes with allergen information for thousands of common dishes, so
that Menutech’s customers can ensure that all allergens are adequately labelled with ease. At the
moment, the platform contains 16.000 translated dishes (DE, EN, IT, FR) and 6.000 dishes with
labelled allergens. Menutech has been developed by Menutech GmbH, a German company founded in
February 2017, which has already secured 12 clients (823 users) in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and
France.
Menutech seeks funding to conduct a feasibility study to prove technical and commercial viability,
conducting an analytical exercise to position the product.

Fields of science

• medical and health sciences › clinical medicine › allergology › food allergy
• engineering and technology › electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering › electronic engineering › sensors › optical sensors
• engineering and technology › other engineering and technologies › food technology › food safety
• engineering and technology › electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering › information engineering › telecommunications › mobile phones
• natural sciences › computer and information sciences › artificial intelligence › computational intelligence

Programme(s)

• H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs Main Programme
• H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
• H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies

Topic(s)

• EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020 - SME instrument

Call for proposal

H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1

Funding Scheme

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

Coordinator

MENUTECH GMBH

• Net EU contribution: € 50 000,00
• Address: ALMSTADTSTR. 46 ; 10119 BERLIN ; Germany
• SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes:
  Region
  Berlin › Berlin › Berlin
• Region: Berlin › Berlin › Berlin
• Activity type: Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
• Total cost: € 71 429,00