We are halfway through the project… Can you believe it?
One year and a half went by, and it is time to check where we stand. Six months ago, when you received our second newsletter, we were at a very different stage: we had defined our stakeholders’ needs, and we had just started to get the MED Food TTHubs concepts into shape. Six months after, we have the first results that we can implement and pilot to support traceability in the Mediterranean agri-food supply chain.
During all that time, we have been working on the elaboration of a “Common Authentication and Quality Assurance Protocol” to describe the quality processes and checks needed starting at farms, continuing in processing facilities and ending at retailing points. Besides that, our full-path “Voluntary Scheme of Traceability” for MED foods has also been developed based on documented authentication of products, using also the genetic and genomic data along with isotope analysis data. To help us develop a valuable and user-friendly platform, a major cornerstone of our project, we have analysed the related user requirements. Based on this analysis, we design the software architecture of the e-platform and its modules following an agile programming approach. Stay tuned to learn more about that!
Meanwhile, to establish a firm basis for our work on the ground, we have started designing our pilot cases. We have identified the relevant local agri-food products to be tested, designed the selection criteria and methodology to be followed and created targeted flowchart – maps for our different cases. Finally, let’s not forget that we launched our Stakeholder Community in order to link the project to a wider industrial, research and policy landscape and present it to its key stakeholders. Specific strategies and Action Plans that have been developed helped us to identify and further recruit actors and end-users interested in traceability and authenticity. If you’re hungry to find out more or get involved in our community, there is lots to discover on the MED Food TTHubs website, so do browse around!
From where we stand, if we look back, we see an e-platform and a full-path traceability protocol to be brought to life. If we look ahead, we spot a series of training events, assessments and more tools’ development. But the fun part starts now: after designing, we have finally started developing what will be then tested in real-life contexts. One reason more to look out for 2022…and to keep following us, of course!