Transforming Food Sustainability with Innovation and Circularity | co-creation
The Purple4Life project, coordinated by University of Mons and funded under the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking, harnesses the remarkable metabolic versatility of purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB) to transform industrial by-products into high-quality, innovative feed and food ingredients. The project follows a multidisciplinary approach to pursue key objectives, including developing safe and cost-effective bioprocesses for PPB production, demonstrating practical uses of PPB in food and feed chains, assessing nutritional, environmental, and health impacts, raising public awareness to promote societal acceptance, and supporting the sustainable exploitation and long-term viability of PPB technologies. This innovative approach integrates science, industry, and policy to create sustainable food systems through circular economy principles, contributing to a healthier and more sustainable future.
Contribution by EU FOOD SAFETY PLATFORM: empowering the project with a robust mechanism to ensure the safety assessment and regulatory compliance of the innovative ingredients under development, also through the establishment of a dedicated working group gathering project partners and platform experts.
Project’s objectives
Purple4Life’s mission is to innovate sustainable food systems through cutting-edge biotechnologies and circular economy principles. The project has the following key objectives:
Promote the exploitation and long-term sustainability of PPB technologies, thus ensureing that purple bacteria-based innovations are sustainable and viable in the long run, fostering their uptake across industries.
Develop safe and cost-effective bioprocesses for producing purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB), by creating scalable methods that ensure safety and economic viability for food and feed applications.
Demonstrate the practical applications of PPB within food and feed chains, thus showcasing how PPB can be integrated effectively and beneficially in these supply chains.
Assess the nutritional, environmental, and health impacts of PPB, with the aim to to understand the benefits and risks associated with PPB from multiple perspectives.
Enhance public awareness and societal acceptance of PPB technologies, through outreach and engagement activities to inform the public and stakeholders about the advantages and safety of PPB products.
Why it is important Purple4Life in sustainability and circular bioeconomy??
Purple4Life turns agri-food waste into proteins, vitamins, carotenoids, bioplastics and energy using purple bacteria, while treating water. Integrated in existing plants, it cuts energy and CO2, upcycles waste, and advances a circular, local, economically viable bioeconomy. With measurable impact! Read more
PURPLE4LIFE Team
Laura Cavallarin
Research Director
CNR ISPA
Veronica Lattanzio
Research Director
