AFTER project
AFTER project (African Food Tradition rEvisited by Research ) involves seven African countries: Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Madagascar, Senegal, Ghana and South Africa and four EU countries: France, Portugal, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Concept
Ten traditional products which represent three main categories of products are studied:
- Fermented cereal-based products: Akpan, Gowe, Kenkey, Kishk Sa’eedi
- Fermented salted fish and meat: Lanhouin, Kitoza, Kong
- Traditional plant based extracts for functional foods: Bissap, Buy, Jaabi
By generating and sharing knowledge on food technology AFTER intends, for each product group, to improve, develop and create a product or a technology representing an interest shared between European and African food companies. So it contributes directly to improving the competitiveness of these products and it facilitates their implementation and uptake by food companies and their marketing on African and European markets.
Beyond these direct results, the lessons learnt and the methodologies for the assessment of traditional products and processes will be shared with other countries from both continents, and also with other groups of countries (Asia, India, South America) in order to disseminate the results among the research community involved in food research in developing countries.
Objectives
The overall objective of AFTER is to improve traditional African products in the light of combined and/or new technologies for mutual benefits for the consumers, the companies and the producers of Africa and Europe.
The project has four general objectives valid for the ten traditional products from Africa:
- To reach comprehensive scientific knowledge of the existing know-how on technologies, processes and products.
- To propose improved traditional processes by a reengineering of the unit operations with the aim of improving the safety and nutritional quality while keeping or improving the organoleptic characteristics of traditional products.
- To reach objective criteria of acceptability of the traditional products by the consumers and to ensure that the products can effectively access the EU markets in view of regulatory and ethical issues while also protecting the intellectual rights of the people in Africa.
- To present the results into ready-to-use information for food companies including SMEs via guidelines on quality management, food law and regulation and consumer protection and to transfer the results to the stakeholders from Africa and from the EU.
Funding
The project is financed by the European Commission within the FP7: Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development.
Coordinator
Dominique PALLET - Cirad, UMR “Qualisud” (Montpellier - France)
Contact