On the 3^rd of June 2021, the INTAQT – Innovative Tools for Assessment and Authentication of chicken meat, beef, and dairy products’ Qualities – project officially started! For two days, the 24 partners got to know each other and present the project’s goal as well as each Work Package. The virtual kick-off meeting gathered more than 70 people in a number of different sessions such as: “Multi-actor consultation”, “Communication”, “Ontology for One Quality trait”, “Sample shipping and analyses”, among others.

The INTAQT project is a five-year Horizon 2020 project, which aims to assess the relationship between animal production systems and the quality of the products they produce, particularly in the poultry and beef sector.

From extensive to super intensive, the range of options for the livestock production system varies as per consumer needs. The lack of objective information on animal quality, needed to meet the expectations of the final consumer, makes it difficult for the actors in the food chain to perform. In recent years, Europe has increasingly focused on the agri-food chain through the implementation of public policies and the design of several innovative projects.

INTAQT intends to involve all the actors in the chicken and cattle production chains and consumers, co-constructing solutions with its diversified consortium and refining it throughout the project in connection with multi-actor groups. This will be achieved through the development of quality assessment and authentication tools, to provide science-based decision support for policy makers, industries, farmers, and consumers. Furthermore, the claim “One quality” will be the culmination of quality tools developed to assess to improve husbandry practices complying with the high the quality of animal products and their sustainable way of production.