The Swiss Food Research Call aims to fund ideas and proofs of concept at a very early stage of a research project. Since 2013, many projects have made it to market maturity.
Technologies beyond the protective function of packaging for better food quality.
ZHAW, Omya and Micarna have been investigating the potential of functionalised calcium carbonate as a carrier for essential oils with regard to antimicrobial packaging applications. The SFR Call helped create pre-test and apply for and receive Innosuisse funding.
Feasibility study of a smartphone application for disease detection for plants
With the money from the 2019 Research Call, Agroscope was able to continue the LEAFEYE project, which aims at the simple and robust early detection of diseases and pests. With the know-how of the CSEM (Centre Suisse de d'Electronique et de Microtechnique), a neural network for the detection and classification of different stages has been built.
Recultivation of hemp in Switzerland as a valuable foodstuff
AlpenPionier and the Institute for Food and Beverage Innovation at ZHAW in Wädenswil conducted research around the question: "Developing an efficient but gentle separation process for extracting oil, proteins and other potentially high-value components from industrial hemp."
Development of a portable analysis kit for traceability cultures in cheese.
With CHF 10,000 from the 2016 Research Call, Agroscope and SwissDeCode were able to start an evaluation phase to test a portable analysis kit that would reduce laboratory time from 1-2 weeks to less than one hour by means of genetic testing. In April 2018, it was confirmed that the DNAFoil system is at least as sensitive as the conventional analysis method for detecting trace cultures in cheese.
2020 Q&A Session Research Call
Description of Swiss Food Research Call and benefits for applicants & research institutes. Q&A Session with Candidates and Winners Doris Erne, Cyrill Hess, and members of the committee Christoph Denkel and Peter Braun, moderated by Marina Helm.