The agri-food sector must become more cost effective, resource efficient and nutritious if it is to meet the needs of today’s society. An ambitious €10 million project is investigating the potential of alternative protein sources, which could be used to create ingredients and plant-based products. FI Global Insights report on the Smart Protein project.
The EU-funded Smart Protein project was launched in January 2020 to develop the next generation of cost effective, resource efficient, and nutritious foods.
“Key sustainability challenges facing the agri-food industry include improving primary production efficiency without compromising our fragile ecological system,” explains Smart Protein Project Coordinator Dr. Emanuele Zannini, from the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork. “There is a need to produce more and better with less, and to re-shape the ‘food environment’ in which citizens engage with the food system.”
