HORTIFOODTRENDS is a project under which Instytut Ogrodnictwa – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy (InHort) will establish and implement into its practice a long-lasting, interdisciplinary collaboration network with high profile European partners: Københavns Universitet (UCPH), Association Groupe ESA (GROUPE ESA) and Centre de recherche de l'Institut Lyfe (LYFE), in the field of novel food product development, considering the needs of the end-user (consumers and food processing sector), with an approach defined as the Living Lab formula. In accordance with the InHort competence, traditionally strongly linked with horticultural producers and the postharvest management of horticultural commodities, the project effort will focus on creating health-promoting novel foods by using emerging processing techniques dedicated to fruit and vegetable preservation. Obtaining appropriate competences to carry out work in the consumer-oriented formula, and in particular using the Living Lab approach, will provide InHort with a unique tool to enhance the knowledge transfer into the agri-food sector. Cooperation of food technologists (technological knowledge aimed at maintaining the health-promoting properties of processed raw materials) with specialists in the field of consumer sciences (knowledge of communicating with consumers) contrasting with consumers’ needs and preferences as well as market and economic conditions articulated by entrepreneurs (work in the Living Lab formula ), is expected to substantially increase the likelihood of delivering innovative nutritionally and sensory valuable products to the HortiFood market. Thus, a conscious consumer, in line with the idea of the EU strategy "From farm to Fork", will have better access to high-quality food products produced using current, environmentally friendly modern processing technologies. Besides, within HORTIFOODTRENDS activity strengthening research management capacities and administrative skills are foreseen.

PHENOCYCLES is addressing the environmental concern derived from agro-industrial wastes proposing their exploitation for obtaining important bioactive molecules (polyphenolic compounds: PP), to be utilized for different purposes, with a typical circular economy approach. PHENOCYCLES aims at exploring innovative uses of PP and at validating methods for their extraction with a green chemistry approach. PP extracted from agro-industrial wastes (grape, apple, berry pomaces) and herbs with therapeutic value will be purified/fractionated with pilot-scale nano/ultrafiltration membranes to recover different PP fractions, to be employed in four distinct sectors: • human health: synthesis of substances for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and drug delivery (DD), development of innovative phytocarrier systems, formulation of PP loaded micro/nano-scale systems, development of new food supplements (nutraceutics), and hypoallergenic cosmetics. • plant production: PP-based nanomaterials for plant protection against soil-borne pests, to increase plant resistance to stresses, impacting on plant-organisms’ trophic interactions. • environment protection: use of PP as sensitizer or intermediate in the synthesis of materials for water disinfection and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). • material sciences: synthesis of metal based oxide nanostructures useful for photocatalytic applications. To foster future exploitation of the innovations, a thorough assessment of the stakeholders’ perception of their adoptability will be performed applying a participatory approach together with several innovative dissemination activities based on visual media. The interdisciplinary exchanges planned in PHENOCYCLES are thus expected to increase the knowledge of researchers, particularly young ones, on the different methods utilized by the partners fostering further developments in medicine, pharmacology, crop protection, food preservatives, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and other industrial applications.

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