Kitchen garden of the future? EU project develops household vertical farms to boost personalized nutrition

14 Sep 2021 --- An EU-backed project is developing vertical gardens for domestic use, intending to make personalized nutrition more available throughout the continent while reducing reliance on industrial farming.

The EIT Food, Personalised Nutrition through Kitchen Gardens (PERNUG) project will provide state-of-the-art hydroponic systems for growing a range of food plants at home. 

Consumers will be linked to an app giving the latest scientifically validated data on nutrition and health, allowing them to select a range of different crops and varieties linked to their personalized nutritional needs.

The researchers are developing ways of biofortifying crops with bioavailable, bioactive forms of iron and vitamin B12, through which the PERNUG kitchen garden could provide consumers with food directly, reducing the need for expensive supplements.

A prototype trial unit being used to assess biofortification.Gardening for the EU
The project is spearheaded by EIT Food (supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology), the Quadram Institute, Studio Kapp and KU Leuven.

“Kitchen gardens have a range of consumer and environmental benefits compared to those obtained via conventional supply chains,” comments Dr. Paul Kroon from the Quadram Institute. 

“However, they also offer a great opportunity to deliver personalized nutrition, and in the PERNUG project, we are developing kitchen gardens that grow more nutrient-rich plants and allowing users to select from carefully designed and delicious recipes that deliver the types and amounts of nutrients such as minerals and vitamins they need.”

Tackling micronutrient deficiency 
A central aim of PERNUG is to tackle what the project leaders describe as a “growing problem of micronutrient deficiency.” 

Initially, the project will focus on iron and vitamin B12 deficiencies. In almost every EU country, over half of women of childbearing age don’t get the recommended intake of iron, according to a 2019 study. 

Iron deficiency was addressed last year in new World Health Organisation guidelines, which seek to prevent potentially severe consequences such as anemia and poor cognitive development in children.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is also a rising concern, says the Quadram Institute. The boom in popularity for vegetarian and plant-based diets deprives consumers of meat – the main dietary source of the micronutrient. 

App action
Along with the vertical garden itself, the research team intends to develop recipes for the consumers to use to ensure Recommended Daily Allowance of nutrients year-round.

Trials are underway to biofortify crops with iron and vitamin B12.Through a bespoke app being designed by the PERNUG team, these recipes will be tailored to the consumer’s personal nutrition needs. This will put the consumer right at the center of this sustainable food production cycle, says the team, growing their produce to match their personal needs or preferences based on the most reliable nutritional information.

Currently, pilot studies are putting prototype kitchen gardens into households, from which feedback will be used to design the final product. The app is also being co-designed with representative consumers from different groups from the very first stage, with focus groups being used to get insights from households.

Food meters, not food miles 
If adopted en masse, the project leaders say the gardens will cut reliance on industrial farming and consequently slash associated greenhouse gas emissions. 

Rising consumer awareness of the inherent links between food, health and the environment are driving demand for more personalized and sustainable food choices, argues Lauri Kapp, founder of Studio Kapp, an online design agency. 

“Yet, the values, focus and methods of the present food system are not aligned to help consumers achieve their individual health goals or to reduce their environmental footprint.”. 

“This is why we are developing an intelligent home food production system that answers to the unique needs of individual consumers – a new system enabling healthy nutrition by delivering quality before quantity and by supporting the prevention of food-related disease through personalized nutrition,” he continues

Innova Market Insights recognized the continued importance of personalization by pegging “Tailored to Fit” as its top trend of 2021, noting advances in technology are allowing for more individualized approaches to diet and nutrition. 

By Louis Gore-Langton