Beyond the increased interest in transparency expressed by consumers, several factors contribute to the need for transparency such as the increase in global population, outbreaks of food illness, food adulteration cases, and food fraud. In addition to these issues, food supply chains are host to inefficiencies that can lead to wasting of large quantities of food.

Recent regulations in the EU such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Regulation (CSDDR), Corporate Social Responsibility Regulation (CSRD) and EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) strongly stimulated the implementation of digital traceability systems. Business operators are requested to share data on specific topics and at a specific speed. The CSDDR, CSRD, and the EUDR are especially relevant for initiatives to detect the first mile of food products. Food producers and retailers have to show that the products they produce, and sell are free from forced labour and cannot be linked to deforestation.

It is clear that for such an agri-food system to thrive, consumers must have improved access to healthy, sustainable, and affordable food with transparent information regarding food integrity and true value to make the improved food choices that are required to increase demand. Providing increased transparency is an important part of achieving this result.

TITAN is a 4-year project (2022-2026) funded by the European Commission, UKRI and the Swiss Confederation. The project will provide an extensive platform for the development of a wide range of innovations that aid transparency and address societal and planetary health to make the food system fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly.

TITAN will develop 15 innovative solutions, including exploiting DNA-based Rapid Detection Methods, Blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) with an aim to:

• Enhance transparency in agri-food businesses with a focus on SMEs,
• Improve food choices by providing more transparent information to the consumer,
• Enhance food safety and authenticity of products and
• Provide improved information on the health and sustainability of food products.

One of the strengths of the project are the talented partners in the projects gathered by Edward Sliwinski from EFFoST, NL. Located in 14 countries throughout Europe the TITAN consortium consists of twelve small and medium-sized enterprises, nine universities, three research institutes, and three non-profit organizations. ILSI Europe is responsible for the project coordination.

Let’s zoom in on the pilots developing AI-based solutions:

1. Development of a traceability system and food safety testing for the presence of undeclared food allergens

The innovations in this pilot are driven by AI Talentum and Marta Pardo From Universidade de Santiago de Compostela supported by FOCOS, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) and AZTI

This pilot will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the detection of allergens in the cereal supply chain with a focus on wheat. The test will be extended to demonstrate the efficiency of applications for olive oil and mustard. A combination of AI-based traceability tools and nanotechnology-based and user-friendly detection systems for food allergens will be used to reduce the number of samples needed to provide meaningful insights to make the supply chain more secure and protect consumers.

2. Real-time & intelligent data sharing for verification of honey and herbs suppliers

Partners involved: Agroknow, Symbeeosis

This pilot will use AI and blockchain technologies to enhance transparency and assess the safety risks in organic honey and herb products. An AI-powered online dashboard will help food buyers take fast and cost-efficient decisions by running intelligent risk assessments of suppliers from a distance and will allow suppliers to share data of relevance with their buyers in a secure, easily customizable, and automated manner.

3. 360° Healthy nutritional habits tool for kids

Partners involved: AZTI, AI Talentum, TotalCTRL, University of Warsaw, University of Helsinki

The goal of the pilot is to provide educational content of interest to children aged 6-12 years towards healthy nutritional habits to avoid health problems caused by prolonged poor diet, (i) by using new technologies, (ii) an adapted communication style and (iii) seen from a child’s perspective. This project aims to use AI for creating an app consisting in an interactive place where children can learn from food by playing and interacting with a chatbot focused on their needs. The nutritional chatbot will be developed and tested focused on kids but targeted towards their parents or caretakers. The prototype will be initially developed in Spanish and then will undertake testing in other countries (Poland, Finland, and Norway).

TITAN will strongly promote the food industry's implementation of digital traceability programs that will increase its internal visibility and allow it to be truly transparent about the food products it produces and sells. As this is a key part of TITAN, we also hope that the new technologies developed in TITAN will reach maturity and be widely implemented.

Follow TITAN on LinkedIn to receive latest project development, upcoming events and so much more knowledge on transparency. If you are eager to share ideas, contribute knowledge, and provide data to support cutting-edge research on transparency in food supply chains, join the TITAN Stakeholder Board.

Parents understand that the maintenance of their child’s health and wellness is their responsibility; however, many parents face various challenges when trying to do so. FMCG Gurus findings highlight that sugar is the ingredient that parents are most conscious about in food and drink products, with 74% of consumers concerned by sugar content in products. As children are typically drawn to sugary indulgences, parents are concerned by the link between obesity and diabetes and the hidden sugars in products.

Many parents believe that the complex labeling used by brands disguises ingredients. As a result, brands should ensure that nutritional labeling is made clear and simple for parents so that they are able to unpick the nutritional profile of products within seconds.