Innovative Ingredients for Healthy Snacks
This project is part of the current trend toward developing plant-based, protein-rich foods. Its objective is to design healthy snacks made from improved pea proteins and other legumes. The research to be conducted aims to develop legume chips that appeal to consumers, while prioritizing the use of local raw materials and the internalization of micropellet production to reduce manufacturing costs and offer a competitive product.
Project funded by the Walloon Region DGO6
https://www.wagralim.be/nos-projets-innovation/i-healths/
Coordinator: NUTRADIA
Academic partners: Meurice R&D, Gembloux Agro-Bio-Tech
Industrial partner: COSUCRA
Local regenerative agriculture for increased resilience and performance of the industrial food system. From technical routing to the finished product.
Regenerative agriculture, also known as organic and conservation agriculture (ABC), encompasses a set of practices aimed at preserving the health of consumers as well as agricultural soils. It is based, among other things, on maintaining maximum soil cover, implementing more diversified rotations, and, above all, reducing tillage.
The objective of the “ABC to Food” project is to develop supply chains for 8 crops of interest (wheat, oats, millet, alfalfa, fava beans, brown mustard, rapeseed, and sunflower) that are part of a long and varied crop rotation providing ecosystem services to farms and the environment. Based on agronomic trials, a physicochemical and nutritional characterization of the production will determine the added value conferred by ABC practices. Their impact on the soil will also be evaluated. The involved industrial partners are committed to developing recipes based on these raw materials and studying consumer interest in this approach and type of product.
Project funded by the Walloon Region DGO6
https://www.wagralim.be/nos-projets-innovation/abctofood/
Coordinator: Farm for Good
Academic partners: Meurice R&D, CRA-W, UCLouvain Farms
Industrial partners: BIONAT, COPAINS, MEURENS NATURAL, PURATOS
Towards qualitative and sustainable beekeeping practices for the ecosystem, bees, beekeepers, and consumers.
The company Habeebee, which produces a range of skincare products based on beehive products, advocates for a more sustainable approach to beekeeping compared to conventional practices. Beekeepers in its network commit to using horizontal hives and respecting various principles:
The IT’S TIME TO BEE project aims to establish the scientific foundation for objectifying a natural hive management process, with the goal of creating a Walloon cooperative for beehive products derived from sustainable beekeeping. At the end of the three-year period, the project aims to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable beekeeping compared to conventional beekeeping in terms of the quality of the product purchased by the consumer, the impact on bees (mortality, diseases, etc.), and the environmental impact. The overall deliverable will be the objectification of specifications for the optimal management of bee colonies to obtain natural products based on honey, wax, and propolis that meet qualitative and sustainable beekeeping practices.
Project funded by the Walloon Region DGO6 – Win4Company Program
Coordinator: Habeebee Coop
Academic partners: Meurice R&D
Study of the nutritional interest of fresh Belgian pollens & their transformation capabilities
Internal research funded by Meurice R&D
The BeePnut project is a collaborative project drawing on the expertise of 3 of our laboratories and the support of CARI. It is designed to collect a set of data on the potential nutritional aspects of Belgian entomophilous pollens. The objective is to verify the potential of pollen as a functional ingredient in human nutrition, particularly its protein qualities. The analyses performed must highlight both the positive and negative aspects of their composition. They must also make it possible to estimate their intra-season and inter-season variability, as well as the influence of the location of harvesting areas.
Coordinator: UR BRAlim
Academic Partner: CARI
Development of a range of products nutritionally adapted to elderly people at risk of undernutrition and study of the impact of the range on the target population.
In Belgium, over 60% of the nursing home population is malnourished. This problem has both health and economic costs.
At present, institutions for the elderly try to treat undernutrition by adding protein supplements. Unfortunately, these supplements are often little consumed and end up increasing the food waste quota.
The Delicen’s project aims to create a range of products adapted for malnourished elderly people, appealing both in taste and visually, to promote appetite and limit food waste. It must integrate perfectly into traditionally consumed menus and remain economically competitive.
The ultimate goal is to prove that this range will have a positive impact on the health of the elderly consumers who will benefit from it, as well as on their well-being. Furthermore, the various stakeholders in this project aim for a positive environmental impact through the selection of ingredients prioritizing short supply chains.
This Walloon project, with an exclusively Walloon consortium, will represent an excellent showcase for senior care, already initiated by the National Nutrition and Health Plan.
Project funded by the Walloon Region DGO6
https://www.wagralim.be/nos-projets-innovation/delicens/
Coordinator: CULINOA
Academic Partners : Meurice R&D, CICN,
Industrial Partners: MATERNE Confilux, DETRY, LCB BAKERY, PASTA DELLA MAMMA
Development of a new range of products benefiting a spelt sector in Wallonia: science, production, processing, and consumption
Currently, consumers are demanding local products of differentiated quality, produced using sustainable or organic farming methods. Spelt perfectly meets these requirements. It is a cereal traditionally cultivated in Wallonia.
The Wallep project aims to launch a new range of products based on Walloon spelt (flour, bulgur, pasta, sourdoughs, syrup, alcohol) which will create added value in the region, offer consumers products of differentiated quality, while promoting the establishment of a spelt sector in Wallonia. This will only be possible by first selecting the most suitable varieties and optimizing the defined industrial processes.
Project funded by the Walloon Region DGO6
https://www.wagralim.be/nos-projets-innovation/wallep/
Coordinator: PASTA DELLA MAMMA
Academic Partners : Meurice R&D, CraW, Celabor
Industrial Partners : WALAGRI, MEURENS NATURAL, PURATOS, RADERMACHER, MOULINS DE STATTE