Horizon4Proteins – the cluster of six European protein research and innovation projects – met with representatives from various European Commission DGs on May 17, 2023 – for a discussion on EU policies and rules.
1) Horizon4Proteins, EU protein research and innovation.
Six research projects – co-funded by the European Union, under the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programs – are focused on the development of proteins for food and feed use, the sustainability of productions and the concrete usability of their outputs. (1) The following research projects now appear under the umbrella of Horizon4Proteins.
1.1)
NextGenProteins
Optimization of industrial-scale productions of single cell proteins and proteins from microalgae and insects by upcycling waste from agrifood supply chains.
1.2)
ProFuture
Project dedicated to the development of sustainable processes for the production of microalgae and their use in food and feed. (2)
1.3)
Smart Protein
Research on grains and legumes (quinoa, fava beans, lentils and chickpeas), development of plant protein isolates, fungal fermentation, yeasts,
upcycling
of food industry by-products.
1.4)
Susinchain
Applied research on insect breeding in the food and feed supply chain, with a focus on the
black soldier fly
.
1.5)
Giant Leaps
A holistic and multidisciplinary approach to facilitate the transition to alt proteins, with innovative and open access solutions.
1.6)
Like-A-Pro
Promote the development of innovative supply chains for the production of ‘plant-based, microbe-based, ocean-based, fungus-based, insect-based‘ proteins. With the goal of bringing now-niche products into the mainstream.
2) Alt proteins, EU strategies.
The European Commission’s directorates-general in charge of ‘Health and Food Safety‘ (DG SANTE), ‘Research and Innovation‘ (DG RTD), and ‘Agriculture and Rural Development‘ (DG AGRI) recalled the most relevant EU strategies for research and innovation on alternative proteins.
2.1) Vegetable Proteins
Protein vegetable crops (>15%) are essential for the European Union to reduce dependence on international markets and improve the sustainability of agri-food systems. (3) The Common Agricultural Policy remains at the center, although its latest reform betrayed the goals of ecological transition. (4)
2.2) Farm to Fork Strategy
#Farm2fork in turn devoted attention to the alt proteins, referring especially to plant sources, and to the ambitious goal of bringing organic farming up to 25 percent of the agricultural area under cultivation in the EU. (5) Moreover, the (non)reform of the CAP has thwarted any chance of green transition of agriculture, as DG Agri itself had in fact predicted (6,7).
2.3) Food 2030
The EU’s research and innovation policy is the only one that has not been interfered with by the big agricultural lobbies and agrochemical giants, which have thwarted the ecological transition in the Common Agricultural Policy. Food 2030 therefore remains true to the goals of promoting sustainable and resilient agri-food systems that can ensure-including through alt proteins-food and nutrition security. (8)
3) Opportunities and challenges
Research projects under the Horizon4Proteins cluster have so far achieved positive results, producing products with high nutritional value with a good level of appreciation. Thus, the outlook is encouraging, including bringing some of them to market.
Operational challenges include the costs of protein production and extraction, the yields of which vary depending on several factors. And so the actual sustainability-economic as well as environmental-of supply chains, which should be evaluated from the very beginning with a Life Cycle Thinking approach (i.e., LCA, LCC).
Food circular design
is the paradigm to be pursued-first and foremost in research projects-to ensure the resilience of European agrifood systems. (9) All the more so as their international competitiveness is increasingly threatened by the high costs of agricultural inputs and energy.
4) Policy roundtable
The policy roundtable between participants in the research projects in Horizon4Proteins and representatives of the European Commission identified some critical issues, in the EU legal environment, that deserve reflection in view of possible reforms. Some insights from the writer, already offered there, follow here.
4.1) Novel Foods Regulation
The Novel Foods Regulation (EU) No 2015/2283 has enabled an increasing number of innovative and safe foods to be placed on the Union market. Nonetheless:
– the five-year exclusivity of NF approvals, based solely on scientific reviews and some analysis disguised as a ‘study’ by the applicant, is not justified on unpatented or unpatentable ingredients and foods. And it is a limitation on the positive impact of products on people’s health,
– the above para-patent patent, moreover, is of doubtful compatibility with regulations on industrial property, protection of biotechnological inventions (including microbiological inventions, Dir. 98/44/EC) and plant variety rights (EC Reg. 2100/94),
– startups and small, medium-sized companies thus suffer from the ‘race for exclusive licenses’ of large groups, especially on traditional foods from third countries and otherwise unpatentable. From microalgae to insects to mung bean protein (10, 11,12),
– the bureaucratic burdens and scientific studies required for the authorization of a novel food, moreover, cannot be tackled by small and medium-sized enterprises, which therefore need to be supported, including through research projects, under non-exclusive conditions. Namely, of ‘open innovation‘.
4.2) Circular economy, agroecology
The circular economy being experimented with in various research projects-some of those in the Horizon4Proteins cluster but also others such as EcoeFISHent, in which our Wiise team also participates (13) – also postulates a revision of the discipline on Animal By-Products (reg. EU 1069/09), whose upcycling is still limited to feed destiny only and not also food.
Agroecology must then drive the green transition, for the health of the planet and humans. (14) European research projects should apply the biological system to ensure the biodiversity and microbiological heritage of raw materials and minimize public exposure to hazardous chemicals. Keeping in mind that this is the only path to the autonomy of European agrifood systems. (15)
4.3) Functional natural ingredients
The development of natural preservatives from plant matrices-accomplished in part through two historic EU research projects(PHYTOME, Phytochemicals to reduce nitrite in meat products)-is essential to addressingEuropean citizens’ exposure to nitrosamines.
However, the European Commission, DG SANTE, has taken a position that effectively prevents their release into the Union Market, demanding that functional natural ingredients be subjected to the onerous authorization procedures for food additives (not so individual member states such as France and Italy. See footnotes 16, 17).
The prohibitive costs of these procedures undermine opportunities for innovation, in research projects as well as in the private sector. The strictness of the Novel Foods and Food Additives regulations should be relaxed, perhaps by introducing a registration procedure inspired by the current GRAS system in the US.
5) Interim Conclusions
EU and internationally co-funded research projects play a pivotal role in promoting the ecological transition of food production and consumption, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals in UN Agenda 2030. Equal attention must be paid to socio-economic aspects in order to achieve an effective and inclusive impact on both consumers of all income brackets and the productive fabric, which in Europe hinges on small and medium-sized enterprises.
The evaluation of functional health claims-as referred to in Article 13 of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC) No 1924/06 – should for this purpose be brought back to different levels of scientific evidence, rather than demanding the same requirements prescribed for the disease risk reduction claims referred to in Article 14 of the aforementioned regulation. This is the only way to effectively promoteexpoitation of research on healthy ingredients and foods, whether traditional and/or innovative. (18)
Dario Dongo and Andrea Adelmo Della Penna
Notes
(1) Dario Dongo. Protein for the future, novel food. Challenges and opportunities in EU. FARE (Food and Agriculture Requirements). 15.12.21
(2) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Microalgae and insects, the search for sustainable proteins in Horizon 2020. FT (Food Times). 27.5.20
(3) Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the development of plant proteins in the European Union (COM/2018/757 final) https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018DC0757
(4) Marta Strinati. CAP post-2022, the failure of the ecological transition in agriculture. FT (Food Times). 24.11.21
(5) Dario Dongo, Marina De Nobili. Special – Farm to Fork, preview on EU strategy. FT (Food Times). 24.4.20
(6) Dario Dongo, Silvia Giordanengo. EU Budget 2021-2027 and #NextGenerationEU, focus on rural development and CAP financing. FT (Food Times). 3.12.20
(7) Dario Dongo, Giulia Orsi. Agriculture in EU-27 scenario report 2020-2030. FT (Food Times). 12.1.21
(8) Food 2030 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/environment/bioeconomy/food-systems/food-2030_en
(9) Dario Dongo, Giulia Pietrollini. Circular economy in agri-food systems, an economic imperative. FT (Food Times). 4.5.23
(10) Dario Dongo and Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Microalgae, Euglena gracilis. Superfood with exclusive. FT (Food Times). 1.11.21
(11) Dario Dongo and Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Insects on the table, Novel Food approvals in EU. The state of the art. FT (Food Times). 13.2.22
(12) Dario Dongo and Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Novel Foods, EFSA’s green light for mung bean protein extracts. Eat Just’s vegetable egg. FT (Food Times). 9.11.21
(13) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. EcoeFISHent, upcycling and blue economy in the fish supply chain. The EU research project. FT (Food Times). 18.10.21
(14) Dario Dongo. Organic foods and the immune system, scientific evidence. FT (Food Times). 11.4.20
(15) Dario Dongo, Sabrina Bergamini. 10 years of agroecology to save Europe, the IDDRI study. FT (Food Times). 25.3.19
(16) Dario Dongo. Plant extracts in meats, short circuit in Europe. FT (Food Times). 8.5.19
(17) Dario Dongo. Natural preservatives in meats. FT (Food Times). 6.11.17
(18) Reform of Reg. (EC) 353/08 is therefore necessary, in line with the EUCJ ruling on botanicals, among others. V. Dario Dongo. Health claims on botanicals, the Court of Justice provides clarity. FT (Food Times). 13.10.20
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in Food Technologies and Biotechnologies, qualified food technologist, he follows the research and development area. With particular regard to European research projects (in Horizon 2020, PRIMA) where the FARE division of WIISE Srl, a benefit company, participates.
