H2020 MyToolBox Project: Safe food and feed through an integrated toolbox for mycotoxin management
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2016 -2020
- Assigned Budget 4.997.660,75 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing H2020
- Project website MyToolBox
Crop losses due to fungal and mycotoxin contamination have become a widespread threat, jeopardizing food safety and profitability. However, a revolutionary solution is on the horizon. The EU-funded MyToolBox project will mobilize a diverse collaboration, including academia, farmers, technology SMEs, food industry experts, and policymakers, with the mission of drastically reducing crop losses by up to 90%.
Specifically, the project will adopt a holistic approach encompassing pre- and post-harvest interventions, genetic resistance research, predictive models, and innovative technologies. Beyond prevention, this initiative will address safe utilization options for contaminated crops. In short, MyToolBox represents a ray of hope in the fight against fungal and mycotoxin contamination, ensuring a more resilient and sustainable future for agriculture.
MyToolBox mobilizes a multi-stakeholder partnership (academia, farmers, technology SMEs, the food industry, and policy stakeholders) to develop novel interventions aimed at achieving a 20% to 90% reduction in crop losses due to fungal and mycotoxin contamination. MyToolBox will not only apply a field-to-fork approach but will also consider options for the safe use of contaminated crops, such as efficient biofuel production.
An important component of MyToolBox, which also distinguishes this proposal from previous efforts in the area of mycotoxin reduction, is the provision of recommended measures to end-users along the food and feed chain in a web-based Toolbox. Cutting-edge research will result in new interventions, which will be integrated alongside existing measures in the Toolbox and guide end-users on the most effective measures to reduce crop losses. We will focus on small grain cereals, maize, peanuts, and dried figs, applicable to agricultural conditions in the EU and China.
Crop losses using existing practices will be compared with crop losses following new pre-harvest interventions, including research into genetic resistance to fungal infection, cultural control, the use of new biopesticides (that meet organic farming standards), competitive biocontrol treatments, and the development of prognostic models to predict mycotoxin contamination. Research into post-harvest measures, including real-time monitoring during storage, innovative crop grading using vision technology, and new milling technology, will allow processing of cereals with higher levels of mycotoxins without violating regulatory limits in finished products.
Research on the effects of cooking on mycotoxin levels will provide a better understanding of the process factors used in mycotoxin risk assessment. The participation of leading Chinese institutions aims to establish sustainable cooperation in mycotoxin research between the EU and China.
- UNIVERSITAET FUER BODENKULTUR WIEN (BOKU)
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