BOOSTING BIO-BASED CIRCULAR ECONOMY - NEWS FROM ROMANIA
On the 25th of January 2022, INCDCP ICECHIM Filiala Calarasi attended the online workshop Boosting bio-based circular economy together with the SMEs to overcome the impacts of COVID, organised within the BIOREGIO Project.
Romania was represented by Mrs Simona Carmen Litescu Filipescu, PhD, Senior Researcher at the National Institute of R&D for Biological Sciences, and the topic addressed was: ”Examples of good practices for the higher valorisation of vegetable by-products”.
One example was the FITOCOMP Project – ”Innovative methods for natural resources valorisation and improving the phyto-compounds nutritional efficiency -contributions to increase the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises”, funded under the Competitiveness Operational Programme of Romania 2014-2020 (80% ERDF, 20% Romanian State Budget). The project supported the transfer of knowledge and technology from the research institute to SMEs, particularly from the agriculture & agro-food sector, producers of phyto-pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, natural beverages, as well as manufacturers of extraction devices for biomass.
The technologies use by-products from the food processing industry (e.g. apple pomace, camelina seeds, chestnut shell etc.) and extract valuable compounds (polyphenols, vitamins etc.) that are added to foods, supplements or cosmetics to enhance their functional properties.
So far, 8 Romanian SMEs received assistance under the FITOCOMP project. More information can be found on the project website.
The institute is currently involved in new project proposals to support SMEs in developing innovative bio-based products and minimise waste from the agri-food sector.
