From Food Waste to Sustainable Protein: Rethinking the Future of Global Food Systems
Exploring how alternative proteins and food waste solutions can transform sustainable food systems.
First Taste of Insight: What do Consumers Think about Plant-Based Foods and Minimal Processing?
Sustain-a-bite has obtained its first results on consumer perception and acceptance of plant-based foods and minimal processing technologies.
Behind Every Bite: EU project Sustain-a-bite launches campaign to make healthy and sustainable food the easy choice
Brussels/Madrid, 16th October 2025. – On World Food Day, the EU-funded Sustain-a-bite project is launching its first consumer campaign, Behind Every Bite, across Europe
The Rise of Sustainable Plant-Based Eating
What if your daily food choices could improve your health, protect the planet, and save you money—all at the same time? That’s the promise driving the global shift toward sustainable plant-based foods: meals that are not only nutritious, but also affordable and environmentally responsible.Today, researchers are going beyond labels like "healthy" or "green" to uncover the real impact of plant-based diets. They’re assessing everything from the energy and water used in food production to greenhouse gas emissions and labor conditions. By applying advanced tools such as life cycle assessment, circularity analysis, and multi-criteria decision models, experts are building a comprehensive
Will Consumers Embrace Novel Foods?
As our global food systems face increasing pressure to become more sustainable, innovative solutions are taking shape across Europe—and some of them may already be on your plate. But what exactly are novel foods, and how ready are we, as consumers, to welcome them into our daily diets? What Are Novel Foods? In the European Union, novel foods refer to products that were not widely consumed before May 15, 1997, when the first regulation on this category came into force. This category includes newly developed foods, those produced using innovative technologies or processes, and foods traditionally eaten outside the EU.
Why Food Processing Matters in the Future of Healthy and Sustainable Eating?
Food processing plays a crucial role in modern food systems. It helps extend shelf life, enhances flavor and texture, ensures food safety, and allows for convenient distribution. While taste, cost, and convenience have long driven food choices, today’s consumers are placing growing importance on health, wellness, and environmental impact.This shift has driven growing demand for minimally processed foods, especially those perceived as “natural” or “organic.” More than ever, people are seeking out foods rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds—those beneficial plant and food components that may reduce disease risk and support overall health.Health-conscious consumers are also analysing ingredient lists more
Fermentation for a More Nutritious and Sustainable Future
In the EU-funded Sustain-a-bite project, natural bioprocessing technologies like fermentation and seed bioactivation are being harnessed to address one of today’s major food challenges: making plant-based foods more nutritious, functional, and sustainable—without relying on chemicals or heavy processing. These techniques enable us to extract more value from whole plant ingredients while drastically reducing energy, water, and raw material use.The Challenge with Plant-Based IngredientsAs plant-based diets continue to grow in popularity, they face inherent challenges such as low digestibility, the presence of antinutritional factors, and deficiencies. However, many plant-based products on the market overlook these issues. Additionally, these products often result
Explore How IBA Is Reinventing Chickpeas in Sustain-a-bite
What if chickpeas could help us eat better and reduce our environmental impact? That’s exactly what researchers at IBA Bucharest are exploring as part of the Sustain-a-bite project – an EU-funded initiative focused on sustainable food innovation. Who is IBA and What Are They Working On? The National Institute of Research and Development for Food Bioresources (IBA Bucharest) is bringing its expertise in food safety, biotechnology, and consumer behaviour to the project. Their work contributes to two key areas: Innovative food processing (Work Package 1) Consumer studies (Work Package 4) In particular, IBA is leading efforts to create new,
Transforming Underused Crops into the Future of Food
Sustain-a-bite develops sustainable, cost-effective processes to create plant-based food ingredients from underused crops and side streams. By transforming materials like barley, faba bean, chickpea, and fruit/vegetable pomace into high-value ingredients, it supports healthier, affordable food products and boosts resilience in the EU agri-food sector—closely aligning with Wageningen Food & Biobased Research’s (WFBR) mission for a more sustainable food system. High-Pressure Processing for Sustainable Plant-Based Ingredients Sustain-a-Bite technologies focus on low-energy, non-thermal methods, with high-pressure processing (HPP) as one of them. At WFBR, we apply advanced processing expertise to investigate how HPP reduces energy, water, and raw material use in plant-based
Fighting Climate Change Through Sustainable Protein Innovation
As climate change accelerates, it’s clear that transforming our food systems is not just necessary—it’s urgent. A key area of opportunity lies in sustainable proteins, which offer powerful ways to reduce environmental impact while supporting global nutrition. Cooperation & stakeholder engagement At Sustain-a-bite, we’re addressing this transformation through the development of a stakeholder platform designed to foster co-creation, knowledge exchange, and innovation across the food value chain. By connecting actors from farm to fork, we aim to unlock practical solutions that drive the shift toward resilient, sustainable food systems—aligned with other EU-funded initiatives and stakeholders working toward the same goal.
