The companies Sigma, Iberfruta Muerza, Lugartis, Pascual Innoventures, Uraphex and Protiberia will work alongside CNTA in a safe environment designed to test technologies and processes that operate at the regulatory frontier.
Spain’s Sandbox AgriFoodTech—an initiative promoted by the Government of Spain’s Ministry of Science and Universities (MCIU), the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), together with the Regional Governments of Navarra and La Rioja, and CNTA, and managed through its innovation hub EATEX—has officially launched with the selection of six projects aiming to generate real impact in sustainability and industrial efficiency.
Sigma, Iberfruta Muerza, Lugartis, Pascual Innoventures, Uraphex and Protiberia will collaborate with CNTA in a secure experimental setting designed to explore technologies and processes that lie at the regulatory frontier.
The goal? Validate innovative solutions and obtain regulatory learnings that help accelerate their path to market.
What challenges will these projects address?
Sigma, through Campofrío Food Group (Alcobendas, Madrid), will experiment with the use of ovalbumin obtained through precision fermentation as a food ingredient. The aim is to gather technical data and consumer perception insights as a preliminary basis for a future authorisation request within the EU, contributing to the development of innovative and sustainable solutions in the field of alternative proteins.
Iberfruta Muerza (Azagra, Navarra) will work with CNTA to validate the feasibility of storing fruit based frozen ingredients at –15 °C instead of the –18 °C required by current legislation. The project will assess the impact on quality and food safety, quantify potential energy savings, and provide technical criteria to propose more sustainable preservation practices.
Lugartis (Argamasilla de Alba, Ciudad Real) will characterise the functional fractions obtained from Lathyrus sativus flour, a traditional legume now largely unused in Spain, with the aim of recovering its cultivation due to its resilience, sustainability, low carbon footprint and soil regenerating capacity. Technical knowledge will be generated on its functionality and food safety to assess its suitability under the regulatory framework for novel food ingredients.
Pascual Innoventures (Madrid) will work with CNTA to explore the potential of coffee silverskin—currently considered a waste by product with no food use—as a new functional ingredient. Preliminary technical information will be gathered to serve as the basis for a future authorisation request for use in supplements, beverages and other products.
Uraphex (Pamplona, Navarra) will extend real world use cases of its UraFood technology to reinforce performance and explore new applications in the agri food industry. The technology will be applied to industrial vegetable washing, assessing effectiveness in water regeneration and disinfection, as well as in the reduction of chlorates and microbial load. The results will generate technical evidence to support regulations on the safe use of regenerated water and foster more sustainable water management.
Finally, Protiberia (Villamalea, Albacete) will work with CNTA to validate the food use of Tenebrio molitor protein powder processed through microwave drying. The aim is to assess its potential equivalence to currently authorised products and generate technical evidence to support its progress within the food regulatory framework.
This initiative—driven by the Government of Spain’s Ministry of Science and Universities (MCIU), the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), the Regional Governments of Navarra and La Rioja, and CNTA (National Centre for Food Technology and Safety)—positions itself as a pioneering space in Europe for accelerating agri food innovation.
