Creating a Sustainable Functional Food Chain: A Pathway to EU Climate Neutrality and Improved Health

PATHFOOD aims to revolutionise the field of selenium-enriched functional food, aligning with the European Union's strategic objectives for sustainable development, public health improvement, and socioeconomic growth, thereby strengthening the University of Warsaw's (UW) standing as a leading institution in this research domain.

It is a conduit for knowledge transfer and capacity building with internationally leading partners.The project integrates multiple facets, from selenium sourcing with robust traceability systems to innovative crop cultivation methods that enhance selenium content while minimising environmental impact.

Additionally, the project focuses on optimising food processing techniques to preserve selenium content and develop consumer-tailored functional food products.

Advanced analytical methods such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) will be utilised to scrutinise selenium content and its speciation.

Regulatory compliance forms a cornerstone, ensuring consumer health and instilling confidence in selenium-enriched food products.Adding to these dimensions, PATHFOOD is committed to achieving gender and diversity balance within the consortium throughout the project's activities.

All participating partners established policies (GEP) designed to foster gender equality, diversity, and inclusion amongst employees, enriching the project's social impact.Furthermore, the project espouses an Open Science approach, aiming to make the research process more transparent and collaborative.

This will facilitate the sharing of methods, data, and findings with the broader scientific community, thereby accelerating the pace of discovery and ensuring that the research benefits are distributed more widely.

The collective goal is to advance the frontiers of functional food development and foster global cooperation and innovation in the pursuit of healthier and more sustainable dietary choices.