H2020 METROFOOD-PP Project: METROFOOD-RI Preparatory Phase Project
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2019 -2022
- Assigned Budget 3.999.890,00 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing H2020
- Project website Proyecto METROFOOD-PP
Metrology provides the foundation for reliable measurements and confidence in results, supporting a wide range of sectors, including food and nutrition, and thereby impacting the economy and society. The EU-funded METROFOOD-PP project will develop the organizational, operational, and strategic framework for METROFOOD-RI (Metrology in Food and Nutrition Infrastructure), a new distributed research infrastructure aimed at providing high-quality services in support of the agri-food sector, with a particular focus on food quality, safety, traceability, and sustainability.
To achieve its objectives, the METROFOOD-PP consortium acted on three main levels: construction of METROFOOD-RI; structuring of METROFOOD-RI; and strategic planning. To organize the future legal entity, activities focused on legal and administrative aspects, such as: defining the legal requirements for establishing the ERIC; preparing the necessary contracts; defining the management and organizational structure; preparing the financial plan and cost book; and defining the business plan. Policy documents for the ERIC were developed, with reference to intellectual property rights, public procurement, dissemination, human resources, data management, access, and scientific evaluation. For the operational framework, the overall working model of METROFOOD-RI as a distributed infrastructure was defined, focusing on specifying the functions of the Central Hub and the National Nodes and how the different components relate and interact.
The infrastructure architecture was technically defined for both the physical and electronic components, identifying the overview and key requirements of the physical facilities (analytical laboratories, reference material production plants, fields/farms/experimental plants for food production and primary processing, and cooking laboratories) and developing plans for their integration with the physical and electronic components. Specifically for the e-RI, the Data Management Plan was defined, along with the specification of its architecture and components, data models, and APIs for the different data domains. Use cases for physical, remote, and virtual access were defined, and transnational access was provided to users through the launch of dedicated calls. To organize service delivery, procedures and responsibilities were defined, and the service table was developed.
Finally, activities were carried out to define the quality and safety management system. For the strategic framework, activities were undertaken to ensure that the infrastructure offers a comprehensive understanding of the main scientific issues related to metrology in food and nutrition, and addresses key societal challenges associated with the agri-food system. The final outcome was the development of a "Research and Innovation Agenda," and the workflow for its monitoring and periodic updating was defined. Potential links with other major European and global infrastructures and organizations were examined to better position METROFOOD-RI in the current landscape, along with strategies for collaboration with industry and global networking.
Furthermore, to assess the infrastructure's socioeconomic impact, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), methodologies for impact assessment and monitoring, and strategies for their communication were defined. Regarding risk assessment, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and a Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, and Political (STEEP) analysis were conducted, and TOWS action plans were defined, thus developing risk and contingency plans. Finally, measures to improve user engagement were implemented, and a user engagement and communication strategy was developed. Specific activities were carried out to ensure proper communication of project and infrastructure results, and the Results Dissemination and Exploitation Plan was developed and updated. Due to the COVID-19 crisis and associated health restrictions, the plan was revised to reconsider the organization of some initiatives or promote the improvement of online solutions.
METROFOOD-RI is a pan-European Research Infrastructure aimed at promoting metrology in food and nutrition, included as a Project in the 2018 ESFRI Roadmap for Health and Food. It provides high-quality metrology services in food and nutrition and covers a significant set of highly interdisciplinary and interconnected fields along the food value chain.
The agri-food sector is a strategic asset for all European countries and one of the largest and most important economic sectors, with particular social relevance. Food quality and authenticity have become a priority for consumers worldwide; traceability and food safety are key factors in ensuring food quality and protecting the interests of consumers and producers. High-quality data on the food chain are essential to enrich expanding data technologies with useful content and, in accordance with the FAIR principles (i.e., making data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable), enable advanced research in food and food metrology, understanding metrology in its broad sense as the "science of measurement." METROFOOD-RI, as a research infrastructure, can carry out and support high-level research activities in this field through its mission to improve the quality and reliability of measurement results, as well as to make available and share metrological data, information, and tools.
The scientific offering is aimed at a broad range of users, including researchers/academics; food business operators; policymakers, food inspection and control agencies; and consumers/citizens. METROFOOD-PP represents the project supporting the preparatory phase of the infrastructure, ensuring it reaches legal, financial, and technical maturity and is ready for implementation and operation.
To this end, the following specific objectives were identified: organizing the legal entity that will manage the future infrastructure; technically organizing the infrastructure as a service-oriented organization and defining its operating standards; and strategically defining long-term activities.
METROFOOD-RI (Metrology in Food and Nutrition Infrastructure) is a pan-European Research Infrastructure (RI) aimed at promoting scientific excellence in the field of food quality and safety. It provides high-quality metrology services in food and nutrition, comprising an important cross-section of highly interdisciplinary and interconnected fields along the food value chain, including agri-food, sustainable development, food safety, quality, traceability and authenticity, environmental safety, and human health. METROFOOD-RI has been selected for the ESFRI Roadmap2018 as it is sufficiently mature to be implemented within the next ten years.
The Action aims to support METROFOOD-RI in growing from its current status (a research-based network of facilities and skills) to a mature, integrated, and centrally coordinated RI, with the legal, financial, and technical maturity necessary to implement it. The main objective is to develop METROFOOD-RI's organizational, operational, and strategic framework.
The activities include legal, governance, financial, technical, strategic, and administrative aspects carried out in 15 work packages, organized into three blocks dedicated respectively to: the organization of the legal entity that will manage the future RI, i.e., ERIC; defining the functioning and operational standards at the level of the entire RI and for the National Nodes, as well as the role of the RI as a service-oriented organization; defining long-term activities for the future RI; and updating the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, in response to current and future challenges of the agri-food sector and society. The main output will be the establishment of a legal and financial commitment for the future ERIC, ensuring long-term shared commitment, decision-making, and funding. Ongoing relationships with stakeholders and the user community will be maintained to ensure the best possible attention to their needs and to focus planned strategies and services.
A new research infrastructure for sharing metrological data and tools will enable the agri-food sector to offer consumers better products. Consumers around the world are increasingly paying attention to the quality and authenticity of their food. Having reliable, high-quality data on the food chain is crucial for expanding the use of food safety and traceability technologies, thus protecting the interests of both consumers and producers. This data enables advanced research in food metrology and metrological tools that ensure reliable and accurate measurements. The agri-food sector, one of the largest and most important economic sectors in the EU, plays a key role in ensuring food safety and generating jobs and investment in rural areas.
METROFOOD-RI is a new EU-wide Research Infrastructure (RI) aimed at providing high-quality services to the agri-food sector, including food safety, quality, traceability and authenticity, as well as the sustainability of agri-food systems. The EU-funded METROFOOD-PP project developed the organizational, operational, and strategic framework for METROFOOD-RI, making available and sharing metrological data, information, and tools to enhance scientific excellence throughout the food chain. The best of both worlds: METROFOOD-PP focused on structuring the legal entity that will manage the future infrastructure, the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). “The project partners developed the technical and financial framework necessary to create a service-oriented organization, establishing its operational standards and strategically defining its long-term activities,” says project coordinator Claudia Zoani. The RI comprises a physical research infrastructure (P-RI) and an electronic research infrastructure (e-RI).
The P-RI coordinates and integrates existing facilities, such as plants, laboratories, farms, and fish farms for agricultural production and animal breeding, pilot plants for food production, and cooking laboratories to replicate food consumption, preparation, and eating habits. Data on food composition, nutritional content, contaminant levels, and food markers are shared, integrated, and applied through the platform provided by the project's e-RI.
In this way, the e-RI supports the experimental activities of the P-RI: it provides information such as available metrological tools, threshold values (the minimum energy needed to trigger a reaction), and food data. Better access to data means better food. According to Zoani, services are already being provided to external users. “They include optimizing bakery processes to reduce acrylamide, improving food quality, and providing researchers with remote access to a facility for analyzing nanoparticles in food,” she says. A new virtual access application supporting risk assessment was implemented, while the RM-App helped researchers and laboratory technicians find reference materials of interest available worldwide for analysis. The RM-App is openly and freely available after registration on the website. The project partners have published their strategic research and innovation agenda for the next five years, a milestone for the METROFOOD-RI mission.
The agenda highlights research priorities in metrological tools, circular food systems, food data management, and producer-consumer interaction. By adopting a multidisciplinary approach, the wide range of expertise, tools, and capabilities of the infrastructure consortium members will be utilized to address key issues related to the food chain. “Special attention is paid to social engagement and co-creation approaches, including the implementation of Living Labs as a tool for open innovation and the meaningful participation of agri-food system actors,” Zoani concludes.
METROFOOD-PP represents a key step in its consolidation as an operational research infrastructure and service-oriented organization, sustainable according to its long-term program and capable of providing services to all interested users to generate, disseminate, and share knowledge, drive technological development for the benefit of society, and address challenges in the areas of health and nutrition.
The impact of METROFOOD-PP will benefit various target groups, such as: the infrastructure user community, food business operators, food inspection and control agencies, ministries, policymakers, funding agencies, the scientific community, and civil society. Considering the specific role of the project in the METROFOOD-RI lifecycle, the most important aspect to consider is that the complete package of activities allowed for the preparation of the first-step ERIC application and the definition of a solid long-term vision for METROFOOD-RI as a world-class, organized, and sustainable infrastructure, capable of providing transnational access and cutting-edge services, thus enabling the realization of the infrastructure's socioeconomic impact, encompassing: promoting the acceleration of scientific discovery, innovation, competitiveness, economic and social cohesion; data access, integration, interoperability; education, training, and researcher mobility.
METROFOOD-RI will advance research to accelerate progress in technology and scientific discovery, supporting food quality and safety, traceability, food transparency, the circular bioeconomy, the sustainability and resilience of agri-food systems, digitalization, agroecological transition, and healthier diets.
- AGENZIA NAZIONALE PER LE NUOVE TECNOLOGIE, L'ENERGIA E LO SVILUPPO ECONOMICO SOSTENIBILE (ENEA)
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