Valuable inSects

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The global population is growing and expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, while resources are decreasing. The NWE Area is a very densely populated area characterized by intensive agriculture, so it is necessary to find sustainable alternatives for resources for food. The ValuSect consortium consists of 10 full and 8 associated partners from 7 countries in the NWE area, being 5BE, 4NL, 2FR, 3GB, 1IR, 1GE, 1CH, 1EU. ValuSect enhances the innovation performance of enterprises throughout NWE regions by strengthening the transnational cooperation and exploitation of research on insects as resource for the development of new (semi) finished food products. The focus will be the development of an sustainable transnational Accelerator program including all partners with expertise on insects, food production, innovation and commercialisation to support and cooperate with enterprises. The knowledge will be transferred to enterprises by pilot demonstration and real life testing in close collaboration with end consumers via open/thematic calls for cases (vouchers of 10, 20 or 40k€ for SMEs). During the durance of the project 40 cases will be selected and performed. Prior to these case some questions from SMEs regarding the quality improvement of the insect production and processing need to be clarified eg. composition of the insect, food safety, product shelf life and consumer acceptance (TRL 4-8). Three insect species (e.g. Tenebrio molitor, Acheta domesticus and Locusta migratoria) that already have a novel food dossier will be used in this project. Min. 15 insect based food products already existing on the market will be evaluated for their food safety and shelf life and 40 company cases will be supported. The accelerator program will be sustained after the project. This will increase the innovation levels of enterprises in the food industry in the NWE Area and will accelerate the creation of a consumer market for insect applications in the long term.

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