SEAFOODTOMORROW aims to develop innovative sustainable solutions for improving the safety and dietary properties of seafood in Europe. Addressing the challenge to meet the growing market need for safe and sustainable seafood, the project will generate new knowledge to develop commercial solutions for improving the socio-economic and environmental sustainability of the European seafood production and processing industry. With a strong focus on innovation, SEAFOODTOMORROW is working directly with recognised industry experts and innovative institutions with proven track records. The project has put knowledge management structures in place that ensure innovative solutions will be transferred to end users in the seafood production and processing sectors. Using this comprehensive approach, SEAFOODTOMORROW offers a strong and transdisciplinary partnership that is addressing food security challenges by finding innovative solutions for seafood and associated environmental issues.

The project aims to promote health by improving food quality and safety through the development of more effective methodologies capable of detecting contaminants, allergens and pathogens and by designing nutraceuticals. In this way, it will contribute to the industrial and economic growth of the North Region by promoting a technological shock in the food industry with a strong valorisation of the regional agri-food sources. To this end, the team is working on analytical methods to improve quality control and the creation of safer products with added nutritional value, based on raw materials in the region and using state-of-the-art technology. This project is part of the strategic vision of ICETA, which aims to strengthen the development of R&D activities, offering a variety of scientific, analytical and technical services for the development of research activities in the areas of food, health and environmental sciences, as well as, to provide its resources and knowledge to other public or private research units and also to the region's business community, in an open access policy.

Aims: This project aims at filling the gap between the measured anticancer activity of Pt(II) and Pd(II) polyamine chelates (in the light of their previously established SAR´s) and their biodistribution and biochemical impact (metabolic and histopathological effects). Furthermore, the effect of common dietary phytochemicals on the pharmacodynamics of the complexes will be investigated, with a view to begin to understand the influence of the daily diet on chemotherapy intervention. The success of this multidisciplinary study is ensured by the recognised expertise of the team members in the different approaches to be used, in a close scientific collaboration between six research institutions (national and international)

Emerging Endocrine Disruptors Contaminants (eEDCs) comprise a wide range of chemical compounds, with no regulatory standard, found in aquatic environments mainly due agricultural, industrial and urban contamination. Current data suggest that eEDCs may be blamed for the rising incidence of reproductive alterations in aquatic organisms and other adverse effects, which affect the welfare of aquatic communities. Moreover, some eEDCs are accumulated and biomagnified throughout the trophic chains, reaching the upper trophic levels and potentially negatively affecting the human health. This project aims to clarify the bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential of some eEDCs in aquatic food webs of the two major Portuguese estuaries. Furthermore, bioavailability of eEDCs and risks and benefits associated with seafood consumption will be evaluated. To achieve these objectives an innovator analytical method for the simultaneous determination of several eEDCs will be developed and validated.

The obesity epidemic is still one of the greatest challenges in Public Health. Its complex aetiology hampers identification of determinants beyond the classical model of energy balance. The "chemical obesogenic" and "metabolic disruptor" hypotheses support an important role of xenobiotic chemicals on obesity and metabolic diseases, particularly those provided by food. Specifically, food additives and contaminants from food processing and packaging are of particular interest due to the increased exposure in the last decades. These chemicals can act as obesogens/ metabolic disruptors by; dysregulation of the endocrine function, alteration of the hormonal control of appetite and satiety, shifting energy balance and basal metabolic rate, influencing adipocytes function, and/or glucose-insulin metabolism. Additionally, by influencing insulin resistance and inflammatory processes, these compounds may also exert an effect on cognitive function. This project will allow to describe the exposure to these contaminants using previously collected information of dietary intake from a representative sample of the Portuguese population (the national nutrition and physical activity survey, IAN-AF 2015-2016) and to develop predictive statistical models to improve estimation of exposure by additionally using biomarkers of exposure in urinary samples. Also, it intends to increase knowledge on the influence of these chemicals on adiposity and cognitive function from childhood to adolescence, trying to understand common metabolic pathways, using a longitudinal approach with data from a population-based birth cohort - Generation XXI.

Aims: Modern societies are increasingly prone to chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) a serious threat to public health linked with inadequate nutrition. Guidelines concerning healthy dietary patters that minimize the prevalence of CNCD are based on epidemiologic studies, vulnerable to individual variation, together with knowledge about macronutrients balance, micronutrient deficiencies, bioactive constituents and harmful compounds. Nevertheless, the sequencing of human genome at the beginning of 21st century marks the start of new foodomics strategy to uncover the mechanism behind diet impact on health at the molecular level, permitting unequivocal guidelines to improve consumer?s well-being and health. This project will apply a foodomics approach to evaluate the impact of healthy foods if integrated in unhealthy “Western diet" pattern. Nutrients bioaccessibility, effects on oxidative damage, inflammation, adipogenesis and at the transcriptome level will be assayed.

Aims: The proposal focus on the valorisation of Moringa oleifera products from the point of view of both health/nutricional and economical valorisation. We propose to use protein extracts from stems, pods and seed cake (which have none, or almost none, use and commercial value) to generate protein hydrolysates that contain both nutricional value and bioactive properties. We aim to achieve controlled hydrolysis conditions that can generate bioactive peptide with mineral binding, antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihypertensive or antimicrobial properties, thus accomplishing additional functions besides basic nutritional value. Additionally, we propose to isolate, purify and characterise proteases and protease inhibitors from Moringa (in this case mature leaves and flowers) that can be used in the hydrolysis control, making the whole process a selfcontained, Moringa only, dependent process. The project joins research groups with proved know-how and has support from portuguese Moringa producers.

Aims: The Portuguese coastline is rich in many halophytic and other maritime plants, whose physico-chemical and biological characteristics are still underexploited at the scientific level. The project seeks to fill this gap by examining the biological profile of fresh and/ or dehydrated halophytes and other maritime plants from extracts, allowing the use of these endogenous natural resources through the development of novel functional food ingredients. These plants will be collected in their natural habitat, propagated both in vitro and in the natural environment, under controlled conditions. The most promising extracts regarding biological activity will be selected and incorporated into food matrices (bread, crackers and cookies). Particularly for halophytes, their integration in food matrices (bread, crackers and cookies) will function as a salt substitute, with expected benefits for human health.

Aims: The goal of this project is to promote the healthy aging of population through the use of nanotechnology-based functional dairy foods enriched in polyphenols with antioxidant, anti-aging and neuroprotection properties. Population is getting older due to the rising life expectancy. Polyphenols have been pointed out as possible contributors for prevention and treatment of several age-related diseases. However, these health-promoting compounds present common pharmacokinetic drawbacks that difficult their application. The biotechnological application of polyphenols in functional dairy foods (milk and yogurt) is proposed using a concerted nanotechnological/agro-food approach to engineer nanoparticles that protect polyphenols from degradation and that also improve their oral bioavailability. These nanotech-functional dairy food products enriched in polyphenols for healthy aging of population will ultimately have a great social and economic impact at the National and North Region levels.

Aims: PORPLANTSURF aims at developing superhydrophobic films mimicking the surfaces of plant leaves and petals collected in Northern Portugal. These innovative bioinspired materials will display a series of unique effects ("self-cleaning", "anti-acing", "anti-fogging", "anti-fouling" and "anti-drag") with great technological potential for the production of advanced innovative coatings. PORPLANTSURF will involve: (1) Selection of different taxa exhibiting superhydrophobicity. (2) Analysis of the wax chemistry, histology, hierarchical structure and wettability behaviour of the plant leaves and petals. (3) Selection of the taxa displaying the most marked superhydrophobic effect(s). (4) Synthesis and characterization of hydrophobic hybrid and biopolymer films doped (or not) with hybrid powders. (5) Production of the synthetic replicas through imprinting of the leaves or petals surface roughness on optimized films. (6) Validation and up-scale by Barbot-Indústria de Tintas S.A.

Financial support provided by FCT: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (2016-2019)