Training and networking are great allies for the personal training and technology transfer of our Red Agromatter

The month of September has been full of events that have allowed to expand the network of contacts of the National Technological Center of Canning and Food (CTNC) and other partners, as well as expand their training and achieve the technology transfer of their lines of R & D + i.

On September 15 and 16, the III University Congress on Agri-Food Innovation and Sustainability (CUISA), held in classroom and online format at CIAGRO of the Polytechnic School of Orihuela - Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, took place.

The CTNC headed by the head of the pilot plant, David Quintín, presented the results of the latest work being carried out at the research center, based in Molina de Segura, with innovative techniques such as ultrasound-assisted extraction for the valorization of agri-food by-products.

This event has served, in addition to being a source of information, as a training action for the technicians who have attended the conference due to the knowledge acquired with the lines of work that are being carried out at national and international level in the development of functional foods and the valorization of by-products for other related sectors.

The Smart Agrifood Summit was held on September 29 and 30 at the Palacio de Congresos in Malaga. The event featured an extensive program of thematic panels and conferences in which experts addressed the most important issues of the agri-food sector, as well as an exhibitors' area where direct contacts could be made. A space where the main agents have analyzed innovation in new foods, biotechnologies, circular economy and sustainability, industry 4.0 and food safety, among others. The head of Technology of the Research Center, Presentación García, David Quintín, responsible for the pilot plant and the plant technician have attended this event, a benchmark in agri-food innovation, where they have held meetings with companies to show the progress of the Cervera Agromatter Network.

On the other hand, last September 28, the partners CTNC, CTAEX and Andaltec met in Martos (Jaén) to address the technical work being carried out in the framework of the task of developing demonstrators for the validation of Cervera Agromatter technologies. A meeting at the headquarters of Andaltec, where it was possible to visit their facilities and to present other relevant projects in line with the Agrommater Network, such as the European projects LIFE COMPOLIVE and Agro2Circular.

Finally, CTNC technicians continue working to fine-tune the methodology that allows them to obtain products with added value for the agri-food sector, such as bioactive compounds for the development of nutraceuticals, while supplying "materials" to the various centers that make up the Agromatter Network that allow them to develop biomaterials for the packaging, cosmetics, textile and automotive sectors.

The work continues with the implementation of novel and sustainable technologies such as ultrasound-assisted extraction, enzymatic and accelerated solvent extraction, the latter using equipment in which the solvent to be used is still water under subcritical conditions. These technologies have the advantage of faster extractions due to the better diffusivity of the solvent and avoiding the use of organic solvents.

Link: CTNC