Subglacial volcanic lakes in Iceland constitute one of the most pristine ecosystem on Earth and are analogues for similar habitats for life on exoplanets and moons such as Mars and Europa. AstroLakes aims at discovering novel bacterial and archaeal lineages in such lakes by combining metagenomic, culture and single-cell approaches. The outcome of the project will be a holistic multidisciplinary description of the functional structure of this particular ecosystem. This will lead to a better understanding of exoplanets’ analogue environments and unravel novel enzymes displaying medical or biotechnological interest for academia and industry in Europe. Subglacial volcanic lakes have long remained unexplored. Advances in drilling technology through thick ice shelves in the beginning of the 21st century enabled sampling of such lakes and led to the discovery of unique communities of microorganisms adapted to extreme conditions. AstroLakes will sequence and analyse metagenomes from one such subglacial lake, Skaftárkatlar, sampled in 2007, 2014 and 2015. The results will support the development of an ecosystem model by estimating the functional contribution of the communities at different depths and locations in the lake. New isolates and genomes will be obtained through two complementary approaches, cultivation and single-cell sequencing. The cultivation approach will be achieved by designing culture and isolation media adapted to extremophiles with the information acquired from metagenomes. The single-cell approach involves the development of cytometry cell sorting and single-cell sequencing. This will expand the sequencing expertise at the host organisation, Matís. Additionally, the project will impact the career development of the experienced researcher who will gain a wide range of scientific and transferable skills that are relevant to establish a long-term independent leading career in the field of science.

SilhouetteOfSeaweed will contribute to consumer’s safety by overcoming barriers in estimating toxicity of arsenic species in seaweed. The ocean covers 71% of the planet and for future sustainability the need for looking at using the ocean for food, e.g. seaweed, is increasing. Seaweed contains high amounts of arsenic, including arsenolipids (AsLp). Recently the first data on AsLp toxicity have elucidated that they are as toxic as the most toxic arsenic, the inorganic arsenic (iAs). There is a lack of data on AsLps in seaweed products for human consumption. Safety of seaweed must be addressed and more studies and information on AsLps are urgently needed. Currently, only few research groups worldwide work on AsLps, partly due to difficulties associated with the measurements of these compounds. SilhouetteOfSeaweed will expand this expertise in Europe by establishing necessary facilities at the host Matís to accommodate AsLp measurements. Matís has the capacity to reach this goal together with the experienced researcher and in co-operation with a European partner organisation with expertise in AsLp measurements. SilhouetteOfSeaweed will have two main scientific impacts. Firstly, it will produce AsLp seaweed profiles in 4 different species of brown algae in 3 locations during 3 seasons in Iceland. This information will contribute to the necessary risk assessment needed for algae used for human consumption. Secondly, statistical evaluation and comparison of environmental conditions will make it possible to identify whether the seaweed could be harvested at specific conditions where the amount of toxic arsenic is at its lowest. These data are essential for SMEs entering the European market with their seaweed products. Moreover the project will impact the career development of the experienced researcher who will gain a wide range of scientific and transferable skills that are relevant to establish a long-term independent leading career in the field of science.

Poultry production, the world ́s fastest growing meat sector, is facing serious problems because of the high incidence of food-borne diseases, lack of efficient cooling, ever-stricter food safety regulsation, and concerns about food waste and environmental impact. In Europe every year more than 9 million people are being infected by Campylobacter or other food bacteria. ThorIce’s new solution DeConIce shows promising results as a highly efficient cooling method and as a method for dramatic reduction of Campylobacter on chicken skin without using disinfectant chemicals, pharmaceuticals or soaps; but by using a unique combination of water and ice. It is slush-ice that cools down the chicken meat in the production. The project represents the whole value chain (research, technology provider, food industry and end-users), and is perfectly aligned to bring a completely new solution to market and ensure its cost-effective implementation into European poultry industry. The project’s objective is to finetune the technical parts of the DeConIce solution and conduct two “real-life full-scale demonstrators” at two poultry factories in France. The objective is also to secure an independent scientific and statistical analysis of the reduction of campylobacter level on chicken meat and make a risk analysis of its potential to reduce food poisoning in Europe. During the project ThorIce will update its business strategy and ramp-up production capacity to meet expected rise in demand. After completion of the FTI project, ThorIce will be well positioned to become the leading supplier of equipment for eco-friendly bacteria decontamination and chilling of poultry to the 4 major equipment suppliers to the poultry industry, Marel (IS), Meyn (NL), Baader-Linco (D) and FoodMate (US) which controls more than 80 % of the world market. With the FTI grant ThorIce can increase Speed to Market, which is vital, as there are more than 25 thousand people getting food infections every day in Europe.

In the food industry there are a high number of products susceptible to contamination. That is why the surfaces in contact with food products and the environment where these products are processed should be hygienically correct. This objective is only achieved through regular and systematic cleaning and disinfection (C&D). In the food&drink (F&D) sector these activities are carried out by the production workers or industrial cleaning companies who perform the c&d processes.Cleaning workers are affected by regulations and standards related with hygiene, environmental protection and health and safety in relation to the use of C&D products (many of them are biocides). Thus, adaptability of workers is needed to deal with continuous changes and developments emerging in the sector. Proper training of workers is essential to reduce the high number of workplace accidents and occupational illnesses as well as food hazards causing food-borne diseases. The project developed training materials that will improve training on C&D procedures, occupational hazards and hygiene in the food&drink sector, and therefore, will ensure the workers’ safety and the consumers’ health.The objectives of the project are: 1-To provide training on C&D procedures in the F&D industry. 2-To use both food hygiene and prevention of occupational risks training as a strategy to increase workers adaptability to changes and developments emerging in the sector, thereby improving their employability and competitiveness. 3-To encourage the spreading and implementation the European policy about food safety, contributing therefore to protect consumers' health and to protect workers' from occupational risks. 4-To guarantee the product quality and safety by continuous evaluation.The partnership was composed for several organisations with great experience in the vocational training for the F&D and chemical sector from Iceland, Italy, Spain, Lithuania and Romania.The results of the project was a comprehensive new training material on C&D procedures, hygiene, food safety, occupational risk and waste management. The training material is available on an e-platform with open access for all interested in taking the course. The main impact of the project results is to support Vocational and Educational Trainers (VET) by providing them with teaching resources about C&D procedures, food hygiene and occupational risks prevention to train workers performing C&D activities in the F&D sector; More favorable environment to encourage the use of ICT on education; Improvement of the training courses given by the VET system.