H2020 FREEMYCO Project: A novel pre-harvest biocontrol method to eliminate mycotoxin contamination in the agri-food sector
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2019 -2020
- Assigned Budget 50.000,00 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing H2020
- Project website FREEMYCO
Mycotoxins produced by fungi growing on cereal crops pose a persistent threat to human health, with no effective and sustainable solution currently available. Aflatoxin produced by Aspergillus species poses a particular threat.
The FREEMYCO project has identified an effective biological control agent and is conducting a feasibility study to commercialize it. Researchers at Ideagro have identified a strain of the fungus Trichoderma koningiopsis that controls Aspergillus and other mycotoxin-producing fungi before harvest, for both conventional and organic farming.
It has been extensively tested and proven effective in vitro. FREEMYCO will evaluate the economic, technical, and commercial viability of the business plan, test the product in vivo, and formulate a final product for commercialization.
Mycotoxins are toxic molecules produced by different strains of fungi such as Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium that primarily affect grains during both the pre- and post-harvest stages. One of these, aflatoxin, is one of the most dangerous toxins for human health, and to date, there is no sustainable solution for its control. Ideagro is a company with nine years of experience whose main activity is R&D focused on the agri-food sector.
Our R&D efforts have discovered that a strain of the fungus Trichoderma koningiopsis (IDE-Tri1) is capable of controlling the aforementioned fungi and toxins in cereal crops at the pre-harvest stage. Thus, as a result of this research, FREEMYCO was born as the only biofungicide active ingredient that has demonstrated absolute effectiveness against Aspergillus fungi and, consequently, against aflatoxins in cereal crops at the pre-harvest stage, for both conventional and organic farming. It can also control the remaining, less harmful mycotoxins, as has been successfully proven through in vitro and in vivo tests. FREEMYCO represents a significant economic opportunity (cumulative profit of €11.47 million in three years since its launch) to harness the benefits of a natural product to sustainably address a serious problem for agriculture, food quality/safety, and human health.
Our target customers are the largest pesticide manufacturing companies. We believe that through a B2B sales approach, we will be able to penetrate the highly competitive global biopesticide market and secure sales of our products. The objective of this feasibility study is to delve into these key points to assess the economic, technical, and commercial viability of FREEMYCO (including in vivo testing and final product formulation) to address and scale this challenge.
Friendly fungi can protect crops (and ourselves) from toxic mold. A new treatment promises to curb the growth of microbes that ruin food crops and poison millions of people worldwide. Every year, hundreds of millions of euros in cereal crops are lost due to fungal spoilage worldwide.
Of particular concern are fungal species that produce compounds toxic to human health. FREEMYCO is a novel approach to combating this problem through biological control. "We are trying to develop a new system, a biofungicide," explains project coordinator Alexia Stellfeldt, "a nontoxic fungus that outcompetes pathogenic fungi." Fungi are ubiquitous in the soil and can contaminate a wide range of crops before and after harvest.
Some fungi, such as Aspergillus and Fusarium species, produce mycotoxins that cause illness in humans and animals. What's more, animals fed contaminated grain can pass these mycotoxins into their meat, eggs, and dairy products. "We had a lot of contamination in milk here in Spain last year," says Stellfeldt. Eating feed contaminated with mycotoxins can lead to kidney and liver damage, immune system deficiencies, and cancer. Stellfeldt is a project manager at Ideagro, an independent company focused on agri-food research and development. Researchers identified a strain of the fungus Trichoderma koningiopsis that limits the growth of mycotoxin-producing species in the soil. T. koningiopsis is itself a soil-dwelling fungal species, so a single application can provide season-long protection.
Biocontrol can be added to the soil before or after planting the crop, with one kilogram of agent sufficient to treat one hectare of farmland. Ideagro received EU funding to investigate the potential of T. koningiopsis as a biotreatment for cereal crops and the product's viability in a global fungicide market worth around €16 billion per year. Stellfeldt notes that this would have been impossible without EU support: "Because of the uncertainty of this type of project, banks won't lend you the money." The company now plans to conduct field trials of FREEMYCO to further demonstrate its effectiveness in a real-world setting.
The team must also develop methods for mass production of biocontrol. "You can do research in the lab with 10 milliliters of fungus, but once you get to the commercial stage, you need to adapt the conditions to produce the mushrooms on a large scale," adds Stellfeldt. Growing demand for food and dwindling resources, particularly soil degradation, mean that agricultural land is under increasing pressure. Warm, humid conditions favor fungal growth, and climate change is expected to exacerbate the risk and severity of fungal outbreaks. Stellfeldt says the future of agriculture lies in developing new, environmentally friendly agricultural products. If successful, FREEMYCO will be the first effective and sustainable solution for Aspergillus control, compatible with conventional and organic farming. "We need to find the tools to be more efficient and have a greener system," Stellfeldt concludes. "In short, we need to do more with less."
- INVESTIGACION Y DESARROLLO DE ENSAYOS AGROALIMENTARIOS, SL (IDEAGRO)
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