ABOUT NASCENT (Grant no. 739922)

Duration: 1st September 2017 to 31th August 2018

Coordinator: EuroFIR AISBL

Source of funding: NASCENT is funded by the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) under the INNOSUP Programme

Background
From December 2016, the Food Information for Consumers regulation (EU 1169/2011; FIR) requires most businesses selling pre-packed foods to include nutritional information on their packaging. This means SMEs, for the first time, need to declare nutritional composition data for their products.
Nutritional values can be obtained in several ways including direct chemical analysis, calculation using nutritional data for the ingredients, or calculation from generally established and accepted data. Chemical analysis is expensive and not always the best option for small companies with only a few products, the formulation of which may change relatively frequently. However, calculation is not simple either.

Aim
NASCENT aims to develop and extend nutritional labelling software and services for food manufacturers including SMEs, based on a pilot offering in the UK and Ireland (Nutritional Information Solutions). This exploits expertise within EuroFIR in terms of food composition data and standardisation of recipe calculation. The extended service will provide an accredited nutritional labelling service for food producers, using an existing software platform that goes beyond the automated services currently available. NASCENT is also expected to have a societal benefit for SMEs, which have limited resource and technical knowhow, meaning compliance with new legislation can impact future success. Ultimately, consumers will benefit from the provision of accurate, high quality nutritional information, supporting their food choices.