Over the last months, people worldwide have been strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges driven by the lockdown, the new rules on social distancing and on sanitary precautions, MED Food TTHubs made its first steps and is now well on its way to become the exciting project that it was intended to be!
Since launching the project in April 2020, MED Food TTHubs has started its first activities. To establish a firm basis for the development of a web-based platform to support food traceability, MED Food TTHubs partners thoroughly mapped and analysed the current state of agro-food supply-chains and the traceability and authenticity processes followed in the seven pilot countries. Besides that, to facilitate the design of a user-friendly e-platform, an on-line survey has been designed and will start running within the next month to elicit user requirements. Focus groups were also organised in the involved areas providing direct insights into the interest and views of the stakeholder community.
What is more? To develop a full-path “Voluntary Scheme of Traceability”, another major pillar of the project, MED Food TTHubs selected PDO and PGI local products for being used in its pilot activities. As such, the critical characteristics of selected products started to be analysed and thus, enabling to further elaborate on their species of ingredients, as well as their geographic origin and nutritional profiles.
But this is just the beginning! As MED Food TTHubs moves into the next semester, many exciting activities have been planned. To prepare key stakeholders and end-users to be adaptive for using traceability and authenticity control procedures, engagement activities will be organised. MED Food TTHubs partners are also very much looking forward to taking the next steps for the development of the e-platform for traceability control. At the same time, a step-by-step full-path traceability system will be developed incorporating also quality control and authenticity procedures.
If you are interested to find out more, there is a lot to discover on this website, so do browse around! You might also want to explore our Social Media to keep updated or get involved in your local stakeholder community.
Stay tuned for the forthcoming actions, and keep safe!