Scope and Objectives of the Project

Αbout 750 - 800 thousand pigs per year are produced in Greece, that covers only about one third of domestic pork consumption (about 30kg per person). Moreover, between 2007 and 2015, the available income of pig farmers in the EU declined by 32%, the second largest drop among all livestock breeds. Within this tough economic condition, the largest share of the production cost of a pig farm in Greece is the feed, which accounts approximately 60-70% of the total cost of pig breeding. To reduce the feed cost the incorporation of food by-products in the feed mixture is a viable option in order to replace part of the cereals and soya. Throughout the EU, around 88 million tons of food, produced throughout all stages of the supply chain, are thrown away each year, while a large proportion of these foods are safe for use by humans and/or domestic animals. The cost of non-use of these foods is estimated at around € 143 billion per year. The use of food by-products as animal feed is a widespread traditional practice, but the use of inappropriate and unsafe food by-products in the pig feed is a critical pathway for spreading diseases. For the above reasons, it becomes apparent that the uncontrolled use of food by-products in the pig feed is extremely risky.

The development of intelligent traceability applications and innovative software tools that facilitate track and control of the supply chain can be a critical factor for the safe and safe integration of food by-products into the pig feed. The use of tracking procedures throughout the food chain will allow the by-products of these foods to be exploited through better management of the available information. An important element in the proper and efficient traceability of foodstuffs is the adoption of international standards that will describe the relevant information in a single way, while allowing it to be used by different systems to enhance interoperability.

The aim of the CPigFeed project is the development of intelligent information tools and traceability applications, and their demonstration on a decentralized supply chain of food by-products that will be set up in a typical Greek pig farm. Food by-products will be incorporated in the pig feed mixture, after setting-up a protocol for the safe incorporation of food by-products, and after assessing the impact of the new feed mixture on the health and welfare of pigs, as well as the yield and quality of the final product (pork).

CPigFeed is a 30-month interdisciplinary project involving 4 partners: two research Institutes with high scientific and research experience and two highly active businesses: a pig farm and an IT tools development company. The CPigFeed team brings together scientists and researchers with broad scientific expertise (veterinarians, mechanical engineers, computer engineers, programmers, chemical engineers, agronomists, etc.) to ensure the successful project completion, and the necessary technological advance to make the incorporation of food by-products into the pig feed safe, economically feasible and environmentally sustainable. The project aims to develop all the necessary tools and methodologies to overcome barriers (technical, economic and social) that prevent the use of food by-products in the pig feed mixture, and thus to promote the principles of the Circular Economy in the production of animal feed.

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