Jun 2, 2022
The second implementation workshop took place yesterday for the French case study. The concept of innovative fermented-whey-based drinks selected by consumers was presented, together with the obstacles towards their development and possible solutions .
Apr 21, 2022
FAIRCHAIN partners will deliver three oral presentations on Wednesday, 18 May 2022.
- Intermediate value chains as new model for local and regional actors in the agro-food-system – a path towards a sustainable transition? – Tanja Kaufmann, Bärbel Hüsing, Ariane Voglhuber-Slavinsky (Session 2)
- Multi-actor co-creation approach in the establishment of intermediate food value chains – Ariane Voglhuber-Slavinsky, Bärbel Hüsing, Tanja Kaufmann, Charlotte Freudenberg (Session 2)
- Challenges and working practices for the application of Blockchain in intermediate dairy value chains – Genevieve Gésan-Guiziou, Bärbel Hüsing, Karin Östergren, Andreas Papadakis, Theodore Zahariadis (Session 18)
You can register for the hybrid event here, free of charge.
Apr 4, 2022
By Pieter-Jan Loveniers, Imca Sampers (U.Gent), Harald Saelens (Scaldopack) and Thierry Bénézech (INRAE)
The Belgium case study aims to develop an innovative user-friendly packaging machine adapted to the need of small (e.g. farmers) and mid-sized actors (e.g. farmers in agricultural marketing cooperative) (picture). Two options will be followed to ensure an easy cleaning of the machine.
There is a demand for packaging machines for liquid or mashed products adapted to the needs of small and mid-sized actors, that meet the hygienic design standards. The needs are defined as accessible, convenient to use, easy to clean and maintain, aiming at aseptic processes for longer shelf-life products, easy to use using fun and practical packaging for young children, teenagers and of course adults.
The current situation for small actors is manual packaging, which takes time and effort, and/or using machines that are built themselves not even meeting the basic hygiene requirements, offering safe and reliable products at the same level as those offered by large processors.
As the machine will be used by potentially different actors, e.g., farmers or groups of farmers in a cooperative, the equipment must be easy to clean. Two ways are followed to meet these mandatory requirements, (i) an automatic cleaning system attached to the machine and (ii) a design of the machine allowing easy access to all parts, no hidden areas, easy to wash material in an economical time. The part corresponding to the packaging of the products is protected by an aseptic environment linked to a sterile air supply acting as a protective barrier. A sterilization unit for the packaging material may be present if needed.
Apr 4, 2022
The Austrian case study started with the Food Innovation Incubator programme in September 2021. Two Open Food Jours Fixes took place since then. Jour fixes will have a defined agenda and take place three times a year in a virtual room.
Each jour fixe starts with a short introduction round of the persons who take part in the meeting. It continues with the presentation of a specific food innovation topic, shows updates of the ongoing activities within the incubator programme and invites selected participants to introduce a topic of interest. It ends with a general discussion of other relevant dates, activities and events connected to the target food system. The target group of the jour fixes are food system and network stakeholders and experts.
Also, in November 2021 a ‘Call for Food Product Innovation Ideas’ was sent out, and 11 farmers and food entrepreneurs sent in their ideas to be developed as part of a co-creative workshop series. On the 21st of January, a kick-off workshop took place, in which the goals of the respective food product development projects were discussed, and the infrastructure of the incubator was shown to the participants (picture).
