EIT Food spearheads US$7m funding to fast-track innovation amid COVID-19

08 Jul 2020 --- European food innovation initiative EIT Food has announced the final list of projects to be awarded a share of €6.2 million (US$7 million) in funding as part of the initiative’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Call for Innovation projects. This was designed to fast-track product or service solutions that could have a significant and immediate impact on the challenges brought about by the pandemic on the agri-food sector. Winning innovations include an edible antiviral coating for food, a test for micronutrient deficiencies’ effect on disease strength and dynamic pricing technology which can decrease supermarket food waste by over 40 percent.

“An impressive number of high-quality applications were assessed and we are very pleased with the final 13 that were chosen. They demonstrate the ingenuity and dedication of the agritech community in a time of great uncertainty and disruption, and we are as committed as ever before to supporting their resilience – as well as that of the wider European Food System. The implementation of these urgently needed innovations will help the sector collectively respond to the pandemic and rebuild our economy sustainably,” says Dr. Andy Zynga, CEO of EIT Food.

Implementation of projects started in early this month, six weeks after the call was launched.The funding is being awarded to 13 projects in total, made up from consortia representing 52 global organizations. Lead organizations include the Technical University of Munich (TUM) from Germany, INL from Portugal, SwissDeCode from Switzerland, Wasteless from Israel, UNIBO from Italy, Matis from Iceland, Rikolto from Belgium, UCSC from Italy, Queen's University Belfast from Northern Ireland, and SmartRetail from Belgium.

As part of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT)’s Crisis Response Initiative, this activity directly contributes to the European Union’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. EIT Food and its other Knowledge Innovation Communities (KICs) notes that this initiative has been able to deploy these COVID-19 Response Calls at an “unprecedented speed,” ensuring that industries across Europe are being supported in their time of need.

The COVID-19 Rapid Response Call for Innovation was launched in May alongside the COVID-19 Bridge Fund, which was designed to support startups that have been adversely affected by the pandemic. The total available amount awarded to EIT Food is €10.25 million (US$11.6 million) for both funding opportunities. Implementation of projects started in early this month, six weeks after the call was launched.

Spotlighted EIT Food projects 
Within the initiative’s cohort, FRIENDS Reduce Food Waste, led by Israeli-based Wasteless and NX-Food from Germany, aims to implement the usage of dynamic pricing technology to reduce food waste by up to 40 percent, ensure smoother supply of perishable goods and bring fairer prices to consumers in 40 branches of a German supermarket chain. The project has been awarded €702,500 (US$791,800).

COVICOAT, a project by INL (International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory) from Portugal, Eroski (a Spanish supermarket chain) and 2BNanoFood from Portugal was awarded €485,000 (US$546,600) of funds to develop an edible antiviral coating containing active herbal extracts to prevent COVID-19 surface contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables. They will then assess its performance in relation to how it may change the taste, smell and colour of food to ensure its acceptability in the consumer market.

In August, EIT Food will also announce the recipients of the COVID-19 Bridge Fund, which will help ventures adapt to the crisis and continue critical innovation activities while bridging the gap so they can secure follow-on funding. The aim is to provide timely financial support of between €200,000 (US$225,400) and €500,000 (US$564,000) to a select number of agricultural and food ventures that address one of EIT Food’s key focus areas. By deploying a rapid response mechanism, all EIT Crisis Response activities will be completed by the end of this year to help Europe recover.

These funding initiatives come on top of already-launched initiatives from across the whole EIT Food partner community to support the European food system through the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has included the launch of Robin Food, a soup brand in Belgium with EIT Food partners (and now a COVID-19 Rapid Response Call for Innovation recipient) that is using fresh surplus vegetables from farmers, and aims to distribute 20,000 litres to vulnerable families through food banks and social grocers. 

With learnings from the Robin Food program, similar initiatives are already being rolled out across other regions in Europe. In Spain for example, EIT Food has announced the Los Salvacomidas (The Food Savers) initiative to provide over 60,000 healthy lunch boxes to children in need affected by the coronavirus crisis. EIT Food is also helping to improve the knowledge of the public by launching a free online course that is exploring how agrifood supply chains are coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more pandemic-related headlines and guidance to navigate your business through this challenging period, readers may be directed to FoodIngredientsFirst’s COVID-19 updates.

Edited by Benjamin Ferrer