National Research Program “Healthy foods for a strong bioeconomy and quality of life”
General goal:
Conducting fundamental and applied research for establishing adapted models and technologies for production of healthy foods for a strong regional bio-economy and for improving quality of life of population of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Specific objectives
Targeted fundamental research
• Researching, developing and /or implementing in practice innovative models of healthy and safe food systems within the bio-economy sector through targeted scientific research.
• Development and application of biotechnology for clean raw materials and functional bio-products for healthy living.
• A thorough understanding and detailed description of the mechanisms for obtaining and stabilising nutrient dispersions through natural substances.
Applied research
• Research and development of innovative organic products such as functional foods and nutritional supplements with proven health claims for beneficial effects for consumers.
• Development of innovative technologies and processes for the production of value-added foodstuffs stabilised with natural substances only.
• Improvement of methods for food control and food safety. Development of methods for identification and validation of safety, quality and authenticity of traditional and innovative food and organic products.
• Development of innovative bio-products for use in the food industry for control and production of safe and harmless foodstuff.
• Research and development of biological products for biocontrol of pathogens and for increase of yield of safe food raw materials in agriculture.
The Program will enhance the participation of Bulgarian scientists in scientific networks and partnerships in the country and internationally, as well as the participation of scientific organizations in European and international research programs and projects.
Collaboration with potential public users of results such as industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, organic producers, industry organizations, non-governmental organizations (including consumer), etc. will be enhanced.
Research on scientific tasks is carried out in public scientific organisations, but with particular emphasis on the multidisciplinary approach that calls for unified knowledge / competences, scientific infrastructure and human resources provided by the scientific organisations, participants in the program consortium (in the fields of agriculture, food processing, conservation of natural resources, renewable technologies, etc.).
The program will be synchronised with other scientific programs, to increase the participation of Bulgarian scientific teams and organisations in the European Research Area (ERA) and the EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe.