Sustain-a-bite launches to create healthier, more sustainable plant-based foods under Horizon Europe

A new Horizon Europe project, Sustain-a-bite, has officially begun with the goal of developing healthier and more sustainable food products and processes across Europe. Running from October 2024 to March 2028, the Research and Innovation Action (RIA) is funded under the HORIZON-CL6-2024-FARM2FORK-01-2 call and brings together partners from across the food value chain to reshape how plant-based foods are created, processed, and consumed.

Sustain-a-bite addresses two of the most pressing challenges facing Europe’s food system: improving dietary health and reducing environmental impact. European diets remain nutritionally imbalanced, characterized by high consumption of animal proteins and low intake of dietary fiber. At the same time, many existing plant-based products rely on highly refined ingredients and additives that compromise nutritional value.

To overcome these limitations, Sustain-a-bite will focus on developing innovative, sustainable, and minimally processed methods to produce nutritious, tasty, and affordable plant-based foods. The project aligns closely with the ambitions of the EU Green Deal’s Farm to Fork Strategy, which seeks to make food systems fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly.

The initiative brings together producers, manufacturers, retailers, researchers, authorities, and consumers to foster innovation and drive the adoption of sustainable food solutions. By encouraging collaboration across these groups, Sustain-a-bite aims to build more inclusive local food systems, promote healthier lifestyles, and stimulate the transition toward a low-impact, resource-efficient food economy.

EIT Food, Europe’s leading food innovation community, plays a central role in the project. It is responsible for supporting communication and outreach to engage wider audiences and consumers, raising awareness and stimulating demand for the new ingredients and products developed through Sustain-a-bite. EIT Food is also leading the dissemination of project results to target audiences including the research community, industry stakeholders, policymakers, and the public. In addition, the organization is working to develop exploitation pathways to ensure that the project’s outcomes can be effectively adopted by the food industry, helping to open up new markets and create employment opportunities.

EIT Food will further support Sustain-a-bite’s multi-actor approach by engaging the project’s external advisory board and members of its stakeholder platform in active dialogue, leveraging its broad ecosystem to strengthen cooperation across Europe’s food innovation network.

By combining scientific excellence, industry collaboration, and consumer engagement, Sustain-a-bite represents a major step toward building a European food system that is both nutritionally balanced and environmentally sustainable. The project’s outcomes are expected to contribute to a healthier population, a stronger circular economy, and a more resilient food future for Europe.