Med Food TTHubs - Trace & Trust Hubs for MED food

Listening to the needs of consumers and international markets, the conditions in the business environment have matured to incorporate traceability processes across the whole chain in the food sector beyond the regulatory requirements. To this end, the supply chain of food products must systematize a comprehensive tracing process of the entire chain, together with the need to balance between legislative requirements and the implementation of proven good business supply chain management practice at international level. One important aspect of traceability is the authentication of the species used as well as the authentication of the origin of ingredients. Genetic and genomic approaches along with isotope analysis can ensure a sufficient and documented authentication and traceability of agricultural products from seed to shelf as well as the detection of any adulteration. These approaches not only secure the production chain but at the same time could reveal any fraud and adulteration of any agricultural product. This is considered as extremely important for high added value products while through these approaches can also contribute towards a higher value of the selected products.

Seven Trace & Trust Hubs will be established in the participating countries bringing together various actors belonging to services providers and services requesters/users. The seven Hubs will form a transnational network, which will play the role of a one-stop-shop for traceability and authenticity for Mediterranean food in each country. By following a “many-to-many” model, the Med Food TTHubs will connect: - Specialised laboratories, which can validate the authenticity and the trace of a food product - Competence Centres, which will provide know-how, R&D services for applied innovations in food traceability - Other EU projects and infrastructures working in the same field certification - Technology Providers, which will provide state-of-the-art solutions in various fields such as Internet of Things, Blockchain, Non-destructive testing - Consultants, which will facilitate the application of innovative approaches concerning cultivation, postharvest, food processing, packaging and logistics - Quality Auditors, which will certify quality assurance programs at farms, packing houses, processing facilities, logistic companies - Governmental Authorities and certification bodies, which will act as auditors and regulators of the supply chain - Users of the specialised services in LVC (e.g. producers, cooperatives, SMAEs, food processor companies,

The protocols that will be developed under Med Food TTHubs and the usage of the e-Platform will actively support the food industry in addressing both the demand for food security and food origin. The medium to long term expected impact of Med Food TTHubs can be summarised as: (i) Increasing companies’ interest in food safety and sustainable development. (ii) Promoting the usage of quality and authentication certificates for raw materials as a competitive advantage (iii) Providing full transparency and documentation for the origin of the products and their overall characteristics. (iv) Providing access to information concerning the production processes and the transport. (v) Supporting end-to-end tracking with GS1 standards for more effective re-call management. (vi) Utilization of information on best practices for their integration into the marketing of the company's products and for improving companies’ reputation. (vii) Fully documented coverage of even the most stringent requirements of major retailers abroad as well as food safety legislation. Companies will therefore increase their consumer’s share and increase their revenues