New Processing Technologies

Nowadays, consumers are increasingly worried about their nutrition and health, and demand for fresh and healthy food products from companies, which besides are expected to be eco-friendly. In particular, consumers are concerned about how conventional stabilization techniques traditionally employed for food preservation can be detrimental to the nutritional quality of foods.

In this context, SHEALTHY project has focused its efforts on the assessment and development of non-thermal technologies, from a sustainable perspective. Through those processing methods, firms will be able to stabilize foods, making them fresh-like, safe, and good to taste, without causing a loss of the nutritional qualities. This new generation of products is the response of fresh, healthy, nutritious, and additive-free food that consumers increasingly demand to food companies.

However, these complex technologies could only be afforded by large food enterprises who can invest in such technologies, but, as a result of the SHEALTHY project, also micro and SMEs are empowered to implement mild technologies, improving their competitiveness and developing novel cooperative business models.

Definitely, SHEALTHY involves the transformation of agri-food system as we know it into the innovative ecosystem of the future.