InnoProtein - New sustainable proteins for food, feed and non-food bio-based applications

By 2050, with the global population expected to reach 10 billion, producing sustainable, high-quality protein becomes a pressing environmental, economic, and social challenge. The EU's "protein gap," importing 70 % of protein-rich crops and 90 % of soybeans, adds urgency to the quest for new, nutritious, and eco-friendly protein sources grown in the EU that cater to diverse markets.

The primary goal of the InnoProtein project is to develop and introduce new, sustainable protein sources with exceptional nutritional quality, health benefits, and functional properties. These proteins are aimed at meeting the diverse needs and expectations of consumers, animals and industries, serving not only the food and feed markets but also finding applications in non-food biobased industries.

To achieve this objective, InnoProtein will:

• Use emerging technologies being explored for proteins and peptide extraction
• Exploit new protein sources such as:
  • Species of microalgae
  • Bacteria that have not yet efficiently been brought to large-scale production
• Fungal and insect - already known species that have never before been used as a protein source. Some of these species are so novel that they need to be approved for human consumption.
• Adopt a CIRCULAR & ZERO-WASTE strategy. Full valorization of residual biomass and streams from Single Cell Protein (SCP) and insect protein production processes will be carried out to produce bioplastics and biostimulants

The InnoProtein project has taken a collaborative and inclusive approach, bringing together a strong consortium of 14 partners, including technology providers, industrial partners, and consumer-oriented organizations from nine different European countries. This multi-actor approach ensures a comprehensive perspective and a holistic strategy to achieve the project's objectives.

EUFIC is the leading partner for the communication and dissemination activities and is also leading and contributing to tasks on identifying social requirements for a sustainable protein value chain and consumer acceptance of alternative proteins.

EUFIC's main objectives for the project are:

• To develop a communication and dissemination strategy and a unique visual identity in order to maximise the outreach and impact of the project actions and widely disseminate project results to end-users and relevant stakeholders.

 
Project logo

• To establish health and nutritional requirements of proteins for food and feed, and to test consumer acceptance of new sustainable protein products by developing a specialized questionnaire.

Kick-off meeting in Miñano, Spain (2023)

The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members support the project.

Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CBE JU. Neither the European Union nor the CBE JU can be held responsible for them.

Giacomo Sini, Manager – giacomo.sini@eufic.org

Social Media: #InnoProteinEU