FREEMYCO – An innovative bio-control method to eliminate mycotoxin contamination in the agro-industrial sector.

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IDEAGRO, INVESTIGACIÓN Y DESARROLLO DE ENSAYOS AGROALIMENTARIOS, SL, an independent applied research company serving the agri-food sector, is currently developing a new mycotoxin biocontrol method to be commercialized in the markets (FREEMYCO).

THIS PROJECT HAS RECEIVED FUNDING FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION HORIZON 2020 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION PROGRAM UNDER THE AGRANT AGREEMENT Nº 875863

Mycotoxins produced by fungi that grow on cereal and grain crops are a persistent threat to human health, with no effective and sustainable solution currently existing. Aflatoxin produced by Aspergillus species of fungi is a worrisome threat.

The project FREEMYCO has identified an effective biocontrol agent and is conducting a feasibility study to bring this biocontrol product to market. LIdeagro researchers have identified a strain of a fungus that controls Aspergillus and other mycotoxin-producing fungi before harvest, both for conventional and organic agriculture. It has been extensively tested and found to be effective in vitro. FREEMYCO will evaluate the economic, technical and commercial viability of the business plan, test the product in vivo and formulate a final product for commercial markets.

Project objectives

Mycotoxins are toxic molecules produced by different strains of fungi such as Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium, which mainly affect cereal grains both in the pre-harvest and post-harvest stages. One of them, aflatoxin, is one of the most dangerous toxins for human health, and to date there is no solution to control it sustainably.

IDEAGRO IS A COMPANY WITH 9 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WHOSE MAIN ACTIVITY IS R&D FOCUSED ON THE AGRI-FOOD SECTOR.

Our R&D efforts have allowed us to discover that a fungus is capable of controlling the aforementioned fungi and toxins in cereal crops at a pre-harvest stage. So that, As a result of these research works, FREEMYCO was born as the only biofungicide active substance that has demonstrated its absolute effectiveness against Aspergillus fungi. and consequently for aflatoxin in cereal crops during the pre-harvest stage, both for conventional and organic agriculture.

It will also be able to control the remaining mycotoxins that are less harmful. FREEMYCO has been successfully tested through in vitro and in vivo tests. The project represents a great economic opportunity (cumulative potential profit of 11.47 million euros in three years after its launch) to take advantage of a natural product to tackle a serious problem for agriculture, food quality/safety and human health in a sustainable way. The target customers are the largest companies that produce phytosanitary products.

We believe that, through a B2B business approach, we will succeed in penetrating the highly competitive world market for biopesticides and ensure the sale of our product.

The objective of this feasibility study is to delve into the key points to assess the economic, technical and commercial feasibility of FREEMYCO (including in vivo tests and final product formulation) to meet this scale-up challenge.[:in]

IDEAGRO, INVESTIGACIÓN Y DESARROLLO DE ENSAYOS AGROALIMENTARIOS, SL, an independent research company dedicated to the agro-alimentary sector is currently developing a new mycotoxin biocontrol product ready for market (FREEMYCO).

 

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant Agreement No 875863

 

Mycotoxins Produced by fungi that grow on grain and cereal crops are a persistent threat to human health, with no effective and sustainable solution currently available. Aflatoxin produced by species of Aspergillus fungus is a particular threat.

The FREEMYCO project has identified an effective biological control agent and is conducting a feasibility study to bring this biocontrol product to market. Researchers at Ideagro have identified a strain of Trichoderma koningiopsis fungus, which controls Aspergillus and other mycotoxin producing fungi pre-harvest, for both conventional and organic agriculture. It has been exhaustively tested and found to be effective in vitro. FREEMYCO will assess the economic, technical and commercial viability of the business plan, test the product in vivo, and formulate a final product for commercial markets.

project goal

Mycotoxins are toxic molecules produced by different fungal strains such as Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium that mainly affect grains both in the pre and postharvest stages. One of them, aflatoxin, is one of the most hazardous toxins for human health, and to date there is no solution to control it through a sustainable way.

Ideagro is a 9-year experienced company whose main activity is R&D focused on the agrifood sector.


Our R&D efforts have found that a Trichoderma koningiopsis strain fungus (IDE-Tri1) is able to control the aforenamed fungi and toxins in cereal crops in a preharvest stage. Thus, in the wake of these investigation works, FREEMYCO is born as the unique bio-fungicide active substance that have shown its absolute effectiveness for Aspergillus fungi and consequently aflatoxin in cereal crops during pre-harvest stage, for both conventional and organic agriculture.

It will be able to control also remaining mycotoxins which are less harmful. It has been successfully tested through in vitro and in vivo tests. FREEMYCO is a great economic opportunity (cumulative potential profit of €11.47M in three years after its launch) to take advantages of a natural product for facing a serious problem for agriculture, food quality/security and human health in a sustainable way. Our target customers are the largest phytosanitary producers' firms.

We consider that through a B2B business approach we will be successful to penetrate into the highly competitive global bio-pesticide market and ensure our product selling.

This Feasibility Study's goal is to deepen in those key points to assess the economic, technical and commercial viability of FREEMYCO (including in vivo trial and end final product formulation) to tackle this challenge for us to scale-up.

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