Ensuring the Sustainability of the cereal sector
The deficit in cereal production is a chronic factor in Portugal. Globalization has guaranteed access to products previously unthinkable, but price volatility, free movement of goods and the specialization of production at a global level have also created high risks of interdependence.
On the other hand, the agrifood sector is strongly affected by the pressure exerted by the costs of waste disposal, environmental regulations and concerns about environmental degradation.
Companies must innovate in their processes in order to apply the concept of Circular Economy and, therefore, they need to review their strategies and define policies that establish beneficial relationships between companies that are part of an industrial ecosystem. The sector's sustainability can be achieved through the use and valorisation of waste from the activities of another company, thus creating a synergistic and mentoring relationship of zero waste.
Valorisation of By-Products
New products with high nutritional value
The Co-CerealValue project aims to investigate and develop new innovative products for human (Food) and animal (Feed) from the valorisation of by-products from the processing and storage of cereals, such as bran, germ and cereal powder.
In addition, other low-value by-products or natural resources will be integrated into the formulations, ensuring that these new products have a high nutritional value in proteins, antioxidants and fibers.
Thus, in addition to developing new food products, the efficient, safe and sustainable use of resources will also be promoted.
Ensuring Food Safety along the chain
The concern for healthier food and an increasingly competitive agrifood market, has resulted, in recent years, in increased efforts to guarantee food security in the traceability of consumed goods.
Aware of this problem, Co-CerealValue aims to create an integrated solution to control traceability along the food chain, through the development of an innovative sensing system, based on smart-objects, associated with the Internet of Things (IOT), in a clear connection to Industry 4.0.
This system will be able to monitor the value chain, allowing the quality control of the raw material from the origin of production (fields of cultivation), through transport and storage, to the final customer.
Cooperation and Strategic Synergies
One of the objectives of the project is the creation of a basis for communication, knowledge sharing and joint efforts, allowing the cooperation between the players of the cereal transformation chain to enhance the sector.
Co-CerealValue is thus based on a model of industrial symbiosis, capable of enhancing the nutritional, economic and environmental value of agrifood waste resulting from the storage and processing of cereals.
To this end, a consortium was established that consists of 2 business entities, namely the leading co-promoter Silos de Leixões, who has extensive experience in the reception, storage, handling and dispatch of agrifood bulk, and Germen, which is a specialized company in cereals milling; as well as by 2 non-business entities from the I&I system (ENESII), the School of Biotechnology of Catholic University of Portugal (UCP) and INEGI - Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering.