FIRST TRIPS OF THE DELICIOUS PROJECT TO PORTUGAL AND EGYPT
DELICIOUS is a European project that seeks to promote and disseminate good eating habits and healthy options in the diet of children and adolescents. It was born under the premise that in 2017 half of the European population was diagnosed with obesity (51.8%) for different reasons such as urbanization, accelerated pace of life and a westernized diet, rich in ultra-processed foods and poor in fresh fruit, which have led to poor quality food consumption, micronutrient deficient and unbalanced macronutrient content.
Technological, geopolitical, educational, and sociocultural factors play an important role in adherence to the Mediterranean diet and go hand in hand with the main objective of the project, which seeks to reduce obesity in childhood and adolescence, through adherence to the diet Mediterranean and physical exercise in children and adolescents. To do this, 7 case studies will be taken from 5 different Mediterranean countries – Spain, Portugal, Italy, Egypt and Lebanon – with some school breakdowns, the project will last for 36 months and received funding from the European Union’s Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area Programme (PRIMA), in addition, it will have the collaboration of various organizations in the 5 countries.
The project is structured by 9 work packages, of which BCC Innovation is carrying out the development package for new food products and recipe optimization. Taking into account the data collected during the early stages of the project, such as the sustainability criteria, more than 200 Mediterranean diet recipes are being reformulated. For this, the needs of the consumer and the cultural preferences will be taken into account for a better acceptance of the consumer, later training will be provided to the staff of the dining rooms, through online workshops.
Participation in Cairo in the II. ICSST congress
On the other hand, from October 4 to 7, the II. day of the “International Congress of Sport and Science”, in which John Regefalk, research chef at BCC Innovation, participated in a work session, which has served to report on the progress of the project and plan the next steps.
For his part, John has had the opportunity to have a first approach to Egyptian gastronomic culture, exploring the flavors and smells of some local markets, he has also tasted some of the dishes that will be reformulated within the Delicious PRIMA project.
In addition, he visited 6 different supermarkets to analyze the offer of existing snacks today, and to identify a “gap” in the market for the snacks that we will develop within the BCC Innovation kitchens.
Trip to Lisbon schools
In July, part of the DELICIOUS project team embarked on a research trip to Portugal, to find ways to influence the consumption habits of children and young people.
María Mora, Ph.D., Elena Romeo, Ph.D., researchers from our sensory analysis team, and Jon Basterretxea, research chef at BCC Innovation, have been on the trip, accompanying the rest of the team on a visit to two schools in Lisbon: Lisbon Marists and Carcavelos Marists.
During the tour, the team members had the opportunity to listen to and see the kitchen staff during the preparation of the daily menu and observe the facilities and material used, to identify weak points in which they could help achieve the project’s objective.
For more information about this project click here