Creation of an Excellence Group to Foster the Design of Affordable, Sustainable, and Healthy Foods

The rapid growth of the global population is pressuring the agri-food sector to deliver in a sustainable manner healthy, tasty, and affordable foods which are aligned with the consumer dietary preferences.

In response to this, THRIVE will establish an ambitious ERA Chair programme in Sustainable Food Structuring Technologies at the Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry (CBQF) of Universidade Catlica Portuguesa.

Under the leadership of Professor Llia Ahrn, a world-leading researcher in the field, THRIVE will enhance the scientific excellence and innovation capacity of CBQF and Portugal through the creation of an interdisciplinary research group that will support the development of new processes for the structural design of future sustainable and healthy foods.

A novel fork-to-farm approach, involving not only researchers, but also consumers, producers, retailers, and polici-makers will be used to foster co-creation, while promoting strategic interactions with relevant international and intersectoral stakeholders to increase THRIVEs impact on the agri-food systems.The proposed activities will contribute to the green transition of the agri-food sector, a strategic area for Portugal and Europe, while ensuring that new food product designs are both technically feasible and tailored to customers needs and preferences.

In addition, THRIVEs mission transcends research, encompassing a commitment to drive structural changes and support measures to make CBQFs performance thrive.

By integrating the EU Charter and Code for Researchers, developing a new integrative research strategy (including the creation of a Living Lab), establishing a robust stakeholder platform, and boosting CBQFs research management capacity, THRIVE aspires to cultivate an ecosystem conducive to ideation and innovation, thus placing CBQF as an international hub at the forefront of R&I in Food Science, with a strong impact on the regional, national, and European systems.