FIGS Operational Group: Implementation of innovative strategies in the Spanish dried fig sector for maximum hygiene and sanitary quality

"In the rural context where the proposed innovative solutions and techniques are intended to be applied, there are currently deeply rooted traditional practices, especially regarding the cultivation, harvesting, transportation, storage, and packaging of dried figs. Smallholding and the diversity of approaches by each owner further accentuate the difficulty of coordinating actions in the use of innovative techniques proposed by research centers.

The traditional system for obtaining dried figs, which involves harvesting and drying the fruit on the ground, as well as their subsequent processing and storage, creates favorable ecological conditions for the growth of toxigenic molds both inside and on the product. Therefore, it is vitally important for this sector to develop strategies that limit the growth of these undesirable molds from production to the final product, resulting in safe and healthy products.

The project proposes a collaborative space, with real-life support in crop plots, warehouses, and real-life industries and transportation systems, for open innovation involving farmers, industries, and researchers. The goal is to generate innovative responses to social and technological problems, with the co-participation and co-development of users who must apply the new innovative techniques. The project covers the entire dried fig production process, including the entire value chain, from varietal selection, agricultural production, drying, storage, industrial production, and marketing.

The CICYTEX working group has studied the Calabacita and Cuello Dama Blanco varieties in different production systems, as well as the most appropriate cultivation techniques such as pruning or harvesting systems with suspended nets. We started with a work of evaluating the control of toxigenic molds in ripened foods, through environmental factors, microbial and ingredients that regulate the expression of mycotoxins. The UEX working group, as a result of previous studies, has mainly isolated species of the genera Cladosporium, Penicillium and Aspergilus in dried and fresh figs.