DecodE – an integrated approach to improve awareness and aid transition to natural additives in collaboration with the food industry
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resumo
Recent studies indicate that consumers have a
higher awareness of what they eat and are paying
more attention to labels to consume healthier food.
For food additives, there is still a high percentage
of the population that does not understand their
different classes, or origin (natural or artificial), along
with many misconceptions. In line with consumer’s
volition to reduce the consumption of processed
foods and their tendency to prefer them non- or
minimally processed, the DecodE project aims
to help clarify the mystification of food additives,
helping consumers and the general public know
the differences between them, their implications
on food and especially, their impact on consumer
health. Furthermore, DecodE also aims at helping
the gradual transition from artificial to natural
preservatives and colourants, with research being
carried out on both topics. This is performed in
close collaboration with pastries and bakeries to
help substitute the artificial additives used in these
industries, and create sustainable methods of
obtaining safe natural counterparts to be gradually
introduced into the market, so, reducing their
drawbacks, namely stability, high obtainment
cost and low efficacy. All this is carried out in an
integrated framework based on the cumulative
knowledge of the research centre where the project
is being executed, the Mountain Research Centre in
Bragança, Portugal (www.cimo.ipb.pt), supported by
various researchers with expertise in different topics.
One of the main focuses of the project is to be open
to society, hence the open data strategy, to reduce
the gap between scientific data and the public’s
knowledge of important aspects regarding their food.
