The EU-funded FishEUTrust project launched a €4.6M blockchain-based seafood traceability platform integrating IoT sensors, genomics, nutritional analytics, and digital product passports. Coordinated by Nives Ogrinc of Slovenia’s Jožef Stefan Institute, it ran from June 2022 to May 2026 across five living labs in Spain, Denmark, Malta, Croatia, and Portugal. The system verifies species authenticity, monitors freshness and contaminants, calculates CO₂ footprints, and introduces a 'health nutritional index' — all accessible via QR code. Consumer engagement included immersive shopping simulations, school programmes, and UN Ocean Decade collaborations.
According to cordis.europa.eu, the EU-funded FishEUTrust project has deployed a modular digital platform integrating blockchain, IoT sensors, genomics, and nutritional analytics to strengthen transparency across Europe’s seafood supply chain — with a total project cost of €5,234,758.46 and an €4,629,816.25 EU contribution.
Digital infrastructure for end-to-end traceability
At the core of the initiative is a scalable digital platform coordinated by Nives Ogrinc of the Jožef Stefan Institute in Slovenia. The platform unifies real-time data from smart IoT sensing systems deployed across production sites and the cold chain, enabling freshness monitoring and detection of contaminants including antibiotics, toxins, and pathogens. Genomics and stable isotope analysis verify species origin and authenticity — critical tools for combating mislabeling and fraud. According to project coordinator Nives Ogrinc, “At the core of FishEUTrust is a modular digital platform delivering full transparency, traceability and data security across the seafood supply chain.”
The system embeds nutritional metrics — protein content, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and micronutrients — alongside environmental indicators such as carbon dioxide footprint calculations. A novel ‘health nutritional index’ quantifies minutes of healthy life gained per serving, transforming seafood into data-rich, health-oriented assets. All information is consolidated into digital product passports anchored on blockchain technology, ensuring data integrity and immutability. Each passport links traceability, nutrition, and sustainability data via a unique product identity accessible through a QR code.
Five living labs validate regional business models
The project established five co-creation living labs across the Mediterranean, North Sea, and Atlantic regions — each focused on a distinct segment of the seafood value chain. In Spain, CETGA concentrated on fish health, safety, and disease prevention using monitoring technologies and validation services. OxyGuard in Denmark developed digital aquaculture management solutions built around real-time data services and software-as-a-service subscriptions. In Malta, ABT served as a regional innovation hub for traceability and received formal recognition from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Bugenvila in Croatia connected seafood production with gastronomy and sustainable consumption promotion, while IPMA in Portugal strengthened producer-consumer trust through consultancy, training, and engagement initiatives.
Consumer engagement through immersive experience
To move beyond passive information delivery, FishEUTrust implemented participatory strategies targeting behavioral change. These included public tasting events, cooking classes with professional chefs, school programmes, hackathons, and summer camps aimed at younger generations. The project also collaborated with the EU-funded Sea2See initiative at United Nations Ocean Decade sea-to-plate-themed events. A particularly innovative approach combined virtual immersive shopping simulations with real-life tasting and purchasing experiences — yielding empirical insights into how labeling clarity, geographic origin, and price influence consumer decisions. As Nives Ogrinc noted, “A particularly innovative approach combined virtual immersive shopping simulations with real-life tasting and purchasing experiences, yielding insights regarding how factors such as labelling, origin and price influence consumer choices.”
The project ran from 1 June 2022 to 31 May 2026, with the European Commission signing the grant agreement on 30 May 2022. Its outcomes directly support the European Green Deal and its Farm-to-Fork Strategy, aiming for a climate-neutral, trusted seafood system by 2040. The platform’s gamification features further educate users about seafood sustainability and supply chain dynamics — reinforcing transparency not as a technical feature but as a foundational element of consumer trust.
Source: cordis.europa.eu
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
