A new European Project within the European Union’s H2020 -Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange Grant program has just kicked-off in CCMAR. 

The project title, ICHTHYS, provides a clear summary of its aims “OptImization of novel value chains for fish and seafood by developing an integrated sustainable approach for improved quality, safety and waste reduction” and will contribute to the global priority “FOOD” and interlinks aquaculture, food processing and technology. The estimated loss of food per year globally is 1.3 billion tons and ICHTHYS is set to tackle the problem.

The project will be transformative for the food sector since it will test and optimize nonthermal food processing for fish and shellfish, develop edible packaging and smart labels for monitoring product quality. Increased product quality and safety and reduced waste in the aquaculture and in the fish and seafood retail sectors will be the benefits for the public.

The ICHTHYS kick-off meeting was held in Lisbon on the 23rd and 24th January of 2020 and brought together experts from the 6 Academic partners from 4 European countries and 8 industrial partners from 5 European countries. The project partners are truly trans-European coming from countries with strong fisheries and aquaculture traditions, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy.