Six projects with potential impact on sustainability and industrial efficiency have been selected in the first call for the AgriFoodtech Sandbox.

• Sigma, Iberfruta Muerza, Lugartis, Pascual Innoventures, Uraphex, and Protiberia are the companies that will work with CNTA on initiatives related to the development of new ingredients, food preservation, and process water regeneration.
• The sandbox is an initiative promoted by MCIU, MAPA, the Government of Navarra, the Government of La Rioja and CNTA, which is managed from its EATEX innovation hub.

The AgriFoodtech Sandbox , an initiative born from the collaboration between the Ministry of Science and Universities (MCIU) , the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) , the regional governments of Navarre and La Rioja , and CNTA (National Center for Food Technology and Safety) , has resolved its first call for projects. Specifically, six initiatives have been selected that stand out for their potential impact on sustainability or industrial efficiency .

The six selected projects include the participation of the companies Sigma, Iberfruta Muerza, Lugartis, Pascual Innoventures, Uraphex, and Protiberia. These companies will have free access to the scientific and technological capabilities of CNTA and its external collaborators, as well as regulatory advice to carry out the necessary tests for the study or validation of their innovative product or process.

The launch of these projects marks the starting point for the sandbox, an experimental space designed as a safe environment for testing innovative technologies , products , services , or approaches that operate at the regulatory frontier. The ultimate goal of the sandbox is to gain insights at the regulatory level and on the added value of innovations compared to current uses and practices.

The projects, in detail

• Sigma, through Campofrío Food Group (Alcobendas, Madrid),   will experience the use of ovalbumin obtained by precision fermentation as a food ingredient . The objective is to obtain   Technical and consumer perception information that will serve as a preliminary basis for a future application for authorization to use this technology in the EU , contributing to the development of innovative and sustainable solutions in the field of alternative proteins.
• Iberfruta Muerza (Azagra, Navarra), for its part, will work with CNTA to validate the feasibility of preserving frozen fruit-based ingredients at temperatures of -15°C , instead of the -18°C required by current legislation. The project will assess the impact on food quality and safety, quantifying potential energy savings and providing technical criteria to propose more sustainable preservation techniques.
• The objective of Lugartis (Argamasilla de Alba, Ciudad Real), on the other hand, will be to characterize the functional fractions obtained from Lathyrus sativus flour , a traditional legume that has fallen into disuse in Spain, with the goal of recovering its cultivation due to its hardiness, sustainability, low carbon footprint, and soil regeneration capacity. Technical knowledge will be generated about its functionality and food safety in order to assess its relevance to the New Food Ingredients legislation .
• On the other hand, Pascual Innoventures (Madrid) will explore, together with CNTA, the potential of coffee silver skin , a currently unused waste product, as a new functional ingredient . Preliminary technical information will be collected to serve as the basis for a future application for authorization as a new food ingredient in supplements, beverages, and other products.
• The fifth project in question will be carried out by the company Uraphex (Pamplona, Navarra) with the goal of expanding real-world use cases for its UraFood technology, strengthening its performance and exploring new applications in the agri-food industry. This technology, developed by the company, will be applied to vegetable washing under industrial conditions , evaluating its effectiveness in regenerating and disinfecting water, as well as in reducing chlorates and microbiological load.   The results will provide technical evidence to support regulations on the safe use of reclaimed water and promote more sustainable water management .
• Finally, Protiberia (Villamalea, Albacete)   Together with the National Commission for the Conservation of Agriculture (CNTA), the National Agricultural Research Council (CNTA) will validate the use of microwave-dried Tenebrio molitor protein powder for food use . The objective is to explore its potential equivalence with the current authorization, generating technical evidence that will allow for progress toward its inclusion within the food regulatory framework .