CENTRO NACIONAL DE TECNOLOGIA Y SEGURIDAD ALIMENTARIA

Their core work

CNTA is Spain's national centre for food technology and safety, based in Navarra's agri-food heartland. They specialize in applying advanced processing technologies — high pressure, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, and plasma-activated water — to make food safer and longer-lasting without thermal damage. They also work on sustainable packaging (bio-based barriers, intelligent films) and increasingly on digital tools like digital twins and blockchain for agri-food supply chain optimization. Their work bridges the gap between lab-scale food science and industrial deployment, serving food manufacturers who need practical, validated processing solutions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2018), CNTA focused squarely on physical food processing technologies — particularly high-pressure and high-temperature treatments for microbial inactivation — alongside exploratory work in algae-based wastewater treatment and agri-food cross-sector innovation. From 2019 onward, the centre shifted decisively toward sustainability-driven themes: alternative proteins (microalgae, protein crops), cooperative business models for value chains, and digital transformation through twins and blockchain. The packaging thread runs throughout but evolved from conventional barrier materials to smart, bio-based, and biodegradable solutions.

CNTA is moving from being a food safety and processing technology lab toward becoming a systems-level integrator of digital tools, sustainability frameworks, and alternative proteins across agri-food value chains.

How they like to work

CNTA operates flexibly across roles — coordinating 3 projects, participating in 4, and contributing as a third party in 4 more, suggesting they adapt their involvement to the consortium's needs rather than insisting on leadership. With 177 unique partners across 26 countries, they maintain a broad European network rather than a tight cluster of repeat collaborators. This makes them an accessible partner: experienced enough to lead when needed, but equally comfortable providing specialist food technology input to larger consortia.

CNTA has collaborated with 177 distinct partners across 26 countries, indicating a wide and well-distributed European network. Their consortia span both large Innovation Actions (7 projects) and research-focused BBI and RIA calls, connecting them to industry, academia, and bio-based industry actors alike.

What sets them apart

CNTA combines deep expertise in non-thermal food processing (high pressure, PEF, plasma) with growing capabilities in digital supply chain tools and sustainable packaging — a rare combination in a single research centre. As an SME-classified national centre, they are more agile and industry-oriented than large university labs, yet carry the credibility and infrastructure of a dedicated food safety institution. For consortium builders, they offer a practical, deployment-focused Spanish partner who can handle everything from lab validation of novel preservation methods to digital twin implementation in real food processing plants.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BBTWINS
  Their largest-funded project (EUR 760K) and most recent coordination role, marking CNTA's strategic pivot into digital twins and blockchain for agri-food — a significant departure from their traditional food processing roots.
• CO-FRESH
  Coordinated a large consortium focused on co-creating sustainable fruit and vegetable value chains across Europe, demonstrating CNTA's ability to lead multi-stakeholder agri-food sustainability projects.
• SHEALTHY
  Their most technology-dense project, combining six distinct non-thermal technologies (ultrasound, PEF, high pressure, plasma water, electrolysed water, light tech) for fresh produce preservation — a showcase of CNTA's core processing expertise.