Food Production Chain Research Articles

Consumer Perception & Awareness on Food Safety in the Developing Countries – A Critical Review

World Health Day focuses on demonstrating the importance of food safety along the whole length of the food chain in a globalized world. Food safety is the shared responsibility. It is important to work all along the food production chain from farmers, manufactures to vendors and consumers. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, elderly and the sick. Unsafe food is linked to the deaths of an estimated 2 million people annually including many children. There is an urgent need for strengthening the existing food policies to incorporate the importance of food safety, which is ignored most of the times, improving the food governance. This study is based on exploratory research by reviewing available literature on consumer perception and awareness on food safety in developing countries. The food we eat must be nutritious and safe, but we often ignore or overlook the issue of food safety. There is need to Improve the nutrition center in the country, actively spread information and raise consumer awareness about food safety issues. There are other issues related to the costs of implementation of food safety measures and the compliance with the standards which the Government should take care. There is an urgent need for strengthening the existing food policies to incorporate the importance of food safety. The policy makers must include “safe food” as a top priority and integrating “food safety” in the nutrition and food security policies and programs. Good collaboration between governments, producers and consumers helps ensure food safety.

13C analysis of cow tail hair and farm slurry can be used to implicitly distinguish between different dairy production systems

BackgroundPublic interest in the way food is produced on the farm and processed along the food-production chain is increasing. The analysis of isotopic signatures (13C) in cow tail hair provides a method to reconstruct the dietary proportion of maize in cow diets. Based on this, we further investigated whether there is a relationship between isotopic signatures in cow tail hair or farm slurry and the proportion of maize of the total utilized agricultural area per farm [%]. We did an on-farm survey on 17 dairy farms in coastal Northwest Germany and collected cow tail hair from dairy cows and slurry samples on each farm. The farms differed in their feeding regime (C3 vs. C4 plants), their site conditions (sandy soil = ‘Geestland’; organic soil = ‘Peatland’; clayey soil = ‘Marshland’), and in the area cultivated with maize as a proportion of the total utilized agricultural area per farm.ResultsWe found a positive relationship between δ13C values in both cow tail hair and slurry and the annual dietary proportion of maize (R2 = 0.67; and R2 = 0.63). Furthermore, we confirmed that there was a relationship between δ13C values in cow tail hair and area of maize as a proportion of the total utilized agricultural area per farm (R2 = 0.69).ConclusionOur findings suggest a general applicability of using isotopic signatures (13C) along a wide gradient of site conditions and productions systems in practice.

Potential of Fruits and Vegetable By-Products as an Alternative Feed Source for Sustainable Ruminant Nutrition and Production: A Review

The agro-food industry produces tons of waste at different stages in the food production process, creating a massive ecological crisis. If implemented, the use of fruit and vegetable by-products (FVBPs) in animal nutrition has the potential to lessen the environmental footprint of the food production chain, lower animal feeding costs, and improve the quality and sustainability of animal products. Recent research on the inclusion of FVBPs, naturally enriched with polyphenols, in the diets of small and large ruminants has shown some promising outcomes, which we discuss in this review. The effects of FVBPs on digestion, rumen fermentation, methane emissions, rumen liquor fatty acid profile, and milk production are examined. Due to the chemical composition and the presence of certain bioactive compounds, FVBPs are capable of influencing the ruminal and intestinal ecosystem through improved kinetics of fermentation. Several in vivo studies have demonstrated that the dietary inclusion of FVBPs resulted in improved milk production and composition without any negative effect on animal performance. Using FVBPs as an alternative to conventional feedstuffs may promote sustainable animal production and nutrition. However, it must be stressed that the efficacy of these feed supplements is conditional on the source, kind, and quantity employed.

Current Status of Major Mycotoxins Contamination in Food and Feed in Asia─A Review

Mycotoxins can cause genotoxic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic effects in humans and animals. Mycotoxins inevitably exist widely in all kinds of food and feed commodities, of which cereals are the most susceptible. In one of the largest cereal producing and consuming regions in the world, mycotoxin contamination causes about 1 billion metric tons of food loss annually, which also influences a serious decline of Asian economic development. This Review is based on three databases, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, including studies that were published in English in the period from January 1, 2016 to October 1, 2022. Results show the current status and control strategies of the aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, and fumonisins in Asia. Developed countries in Asia should maintain strict monitoring and establish an effective control system for the whole food production chain, while developing countries should strengthen the prevention and control strategies for mycotoxins.

Infant food production environments: A potential reservoir for vancomycin-resistant enterococci non-nosocomial infections

Enterococcus has been considered one of the most important nosocomial pathogens for human infections, and the hospital environment is an important reservoir for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) that leads to antimicrobial therapeutic failure. However, infant foods and their production environments could pose risks for the immature population, while this question remains unaddressed. This study conducted an extensive and thorough Enterococcus isolation, VRE risk assessment of the Chinese infant food production chains and additional online-marketing infant foods, including powdered infant formula (PIF) and infant complementary food (ICF). To investigate the prevalence of Enterococcus along infant food chains and commodities, a total of 482 strains of Enterococcus, including E. faecium (n = 363), E. faecalis (n = 84), E. casseliflavus (n = 13), E. mundtii (n = 12), E. gallinarum (n = 4), E. hirae (n = 4), and E. durans (n = 2) were recovered from 459 samples collected from infant food production chains (71/254) and food commodities (67/205). A decreasing trend for Enterococcus detection rate was found in the PIF production chain (PIF-PC), particularly during the preparation of the PIF base powder (From 100 % in raw milk to 8.70 % in end products), while an increasing trend was observed in the ICF production chain (ICF-PC) mainly during the initial processing of farm crops and the further processing of the product (20 % at farm crops increasing to 76.92 % at end products). The result indicated that the PIF-PC process effectively reduced Enterococcus contamination, while the ICF-PC showed the opposite trend. Importantly, eleven VRE isolates were recovered from the infant food production chain, including seven E. casseliflavus isolates carrying vanC2/C3 and four E. gallinarum isolates carrying vanC1. Ten VRE isolates were from food production environments. Collectively, our study demonstrated that infant food production environments represent potential reservoirs for VRE non-nosocomial infections in vulnerable populations.

Pathogenic Microorganisms Linked to Fresh Fruits and Juices Purchased at Low-Cost Markets in Ecuador, Potential Carriers of Antibiotic Resistance

The pathogenic microorganisms linked to fresh fruits and juices sold out in retail low-cost markets raise safety concerns as they may carry multidrug-resistant (MDR) genes. To evaluate the microbiological quality and safety of highly consumed fruits and derivatives in Imbabura Province, Ecuador, ready-to-eat strawberries (5 independent batches; n = 300 samples), and gooseberries (5 separate batches; n = 500 samples), purchased from a local fruit farm grower and low-cost retail market, along with 20 different natural fruit- and vegetables-based juices (3 independent batches; n = 60 samples) purchased from food courts located within the low-cost markets were analyzed. Bacteriological analysis showed that the microbial quality was lower as several indicators (n = 984) consisting of total coliforms (TCOL), total aerobes (AEROB), Enterobacter spp. (ENT), Shigella spp., (SHIGA), yeasts (YE), and molds (M) were detected. Staphylococcus spp. (STAPHY) was found in both fruits regardless of origin, while Escherichia coli (EC) isolates were found in strawberries but not gooseberries. Salmonella spp. (SALM) were detected in juices only. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed multidrug resistance of several isolates. The hemolytic pattern revealed that 88.89% of EC and 61.11% of ENT isolates were beta-hemolytic. All STAPHY isolates were beta-hemolytic while SALM and SHIGA were alpha-hemolytic. Plasmid curing assay of MDR isolates (ENT, EC, SALM, and STAPHY) showed that the antibiotic resistance (AR) was highly indicative of being plasmid-borne. These results raise concerns about the consumption of MDR bacteria. However, good agricultural and industrial practices, behavioral change communication, and awareness-raising programs are necessary for all stakeholders along the food production and consumption supply chain.

Nutrition and its footprints: Using environmental indicators to assess the nexus between sustainability and food

Current food systems are associated with the unsustainable use of natural resources; therefore, rethinking current models is urgent and is part of a global agenda to reach sustainable development. Sustainable diets encompass health, society, economy, culture as well as the environment, in addition to considering all the stages that make up the food production chain. This study aimed to perform a review on the importance of using environmental footprints (EnF) as a way of assessing the environmental impacts of food systems. The most used EnF to assess impacts related to the food system was the carbon footprint, followed by the water footprint, and the land use footprint. These EnF usually measured the impacts mainly of the current diet and theoretical diets. Animal-source foods were the ones that most contribute to the environmental impact, with incentives to reduce consumption. However, changing dietary patterns should not be restricted to changing behavior only, but should also involve all stakeholders in the functioning of food systems. We conclude that EnF are excellent tools to evaluate and guide the adoption of more sustainable diets, and can be applied in different contexts of food systems, such as food consumption analysis, menu analysis, food waste, and inclusion of EnF information on food labels.

The Role of Italy in the Use of Advanced Plant Genomic Techniques on Fruit Trees: State of the Art and Future Perspectives.

Climate change is deeply impacting the food chain production, lowering quality and yield. In this context, the international scientific community has dedicated many efforts to enhancing resilience and sustainability in agriculture. Italy is among the main European producers of several fruit trees; therefore, national research centers and universities undertook several initiatives to maintain the specificity of the 'Made in Italy' label. Despite their importance, fruit crops are suffering from difficulties associated with the conventional breeding approaches, especially in terms of financial commitment, land resources availability, and long generation times. The 'new genomic techniques' (NGTs), renamed in Italy as 'technologies for assisted evolution' (TEAs), reduce the time required to obtain genetically improved cultivars while precisely targeting specific DNA sequences. This review aims to illustrate the role of the Italian scientific community in the use of NGTs, with a specific focus on Citrus, grapevine, apple, pear, chestnut, strawberry, peach, and kiwifruit. For each crop, the key genes and traits on which the scientific community is working, as well as the technological improvements and advancements on the regeneration of local varieties, are presented. Lastly, a focus is placed on the legal aspects in the European and in Italian contexts.

Bioprospecting in food production: an approximation of the current state in Colombia

Microbial bioprospecting is the study and classification of microorganisms with industrial value. Different researches word wide are focusing on the study of natural molecules that can be used for medicine, agriculture and the environment, among others. In Colombia, marine bioprospecting has become highly relevant. Also, different universities and institutes are working on the study of the biodiversity and its applications. The aim of this review was to compilate the most important laws and decrees related with the use of the resources with commercial purposes. Also, the elucidation of the current state of bioprospecting in Colombia and the principal applications of microorganisms in the food production chain. The special focus of this review is to show the potential use of bioprospection on agricultural development of the country in order to change the conventional practices to eco-friendly process in food production. Also, this review proposes the bioprospecting of lactic acid bacteria as an alternative to use their biomass and metabolites for food preservation.

Shelf Life and Safety of Vacuum Packed HPP-Treated Soaked Cod Fillets: Effects of Salt Content and Multilayer Plastic Film

High microbiological quality standards, food safety, and environmental sustainability represent crucial topics in food production chains. For this reason, fish industries, which import salted and seasoned fish products from supplier countries, i.e., Norway, Denmark, USA (Alaska State), etc., have tried to reduce the salt content of each carton during transportation (reducing carbon emissions and the weight of major quantities of transported fish). In the present study, 360 differently processed fish fillet samples, belonging to the species Gadus macrocephalus caught in FAO zone 67, were microbiologically and chemically screened. This study aimed to provide original data concerning the applicability of sustainable solutions investigating the combined effects of salt content reduction combined with new recyclable multilayer plastic film packaging (vacuum skin packaging with two different oxygen transmission rate values). The microbiological results showed no substantial changes comparing the two differently salted products, highlighting their high hygienic characteristics which were also observed in their chemical analysis. The shelf life evolutions (comparing the two different studied plastic films) highlighted that, after 35 days from HPP treatments, bacterial loads gained high values, over 6 log cfu/g. This study highlights that, compared to the currently used plastic films, the results of the new and sustainable multilayer plastic films show that they can provide safe food matrices in combination with HPP technologies. Therefore, this preliminary investigation brings closer attention to alternative and environmentally sustainable production systems with their designs based on the multidisciplinary approach of food production systems.

Aluminum accumulation in the wheat production chain: a review

The consumption of food containing significant amounts of aluminum has been the focus of discussions related to health. Aluminum is distributed in nature and may be naturally present in raw materials or added to food as a result of activities or modification processes along the food production chain. This exploratory and descriptive research identified possible sources of aluminum in food, in general, and particularly in the wheat chain and its derivatives, which comprise an important class in the food chain and ordinary consumption in many cultures. Even though total aluminum values have been found in food, in general, and particularly in wheat derivatives, information about their origins is still incipient. The total content of this metal in the food may be the result of a sum of sources. For wheat and its derivatives, the potential origins are among environmental factors, such as soil and water, and even operational procedures, such as the use of food additives and chemical compounds for the control of stored grain pests. Despite these considerations, the actual contributions of each source are still purely speculative, since although aluminum contents have been quantified in most studies, their sources were impartially explored and clarified.

An economic and environmental analysis of wine packaging systems in Italy: A life cycle (LC) approach.

The main aim of this study was to perform a combined life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of the most used wine packaging systems in Italy. Packaging plays a key role in food and beverage production and supply chain, but the increasing volume of packaging used causes many environmental concerns. The wine sector is no exception, especially in Italy that is the largest producer in the world. Eight packaging alternatives were compared in environmental and economic terms assuming a functional unit of three litres and a cradle to grave approach: one aseptic carton system, two bag-in-box systems, two PET bottle systems, and three glass bottle systems. The results were analysed with an eco-efficiency portfolio approach. There was consistency between the LCA and LCC results for most of the packaging systems. From both the environmental and economical point of views, aseptic cartons and bag-in-box systems were the most sustainable alternatives, while the glass systems had the worst global performances due to the high weight and consequent huge energy consumption during bottle production. The size of the containers was the key factor that most affected the results both in environmental and economic terms.

Sensitive Livestock and Information Communication Technology Applications to Prevent the Spread of Covid-19

The epidemic disease called COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected the whole world. With the spread of the epidemic, various measures such as distance education, home-office, and especially movement restrictions, have been tried to be taken. These measures have increased people's demand for healthy food. The formation of food safety awareness among in consumers has revealed the necessity of control of the controlling food chain (production, storage, transportation of products, etc.). In this process, animal products gained importance, especially as people paid more attention to their nutrition compared to previous years. Especially in this process, animal production should be systematically sustainable in order to meet the increasing animal protein needs of people. In this review, it aims to compile sensitive livestock systems in order to ensure the sustainability of animal production, the production of healthier animals and the production of the obtained products within the framework of food safety rules, with the cessation of mobility due to the measures taken under quarantine and social distance in the COVID-19 epidemic. Thus, in addition to reducing the human workforce during the epidemic process, the data collected with modern animal husbandry will prevent diseases, and facilitate the diagnosis and treatment processes in the event of a disease. With the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), which have an important place in this system, the data obtained through the modern livestock system can be easily processed, managed, and shared, thus reducing the possibility of disease transmission during the pandemic process.

Design of a Food Conveyor and Virus Disinfection Machine

Food, due to its high handling, is more prone to contamination. This damage not only occurs when it comes into contact with the customer and the seller, but it can also occur at any stage of the food production chain because the products pass from hand to hand and from place to place, so it is necessary to perform its disinfection constantly at least 3 times a day. Currently, it has been identified that at the production stage, food can be affected if contaminated freezers are used either for washing, packaging, or cooling. During the slaughter process, microbes surrounding the slaughtered animal can end up in the final meat products. If any microbes contaminate the food processing lines, they can spread and affect other foods in contact. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), it is estimated that around 600 million people worldwide fall ill from contaminated food every year and 420 000 die from contaminated food; Therefore, it is proposed the design of a food transport and virus disinfection machine that will be composed of a mechanical chassis, which contains four wheels for industrial transport and support 1 conveyor belt that will be controlled by a remote control system, and communication between patient and nurse by means of a Tablet, controlled by an application for better communication and to maintain the distance by established protocols. The machine will have the ability to disinfect food either with or without wrappers, and the Tablet will allow the nurse to know if the patient has any discomfort or any inconvenience when giving food through the machine, which proposes a control system and communication through the application, as well as the sink that will have the machine for proper cleaning and disinfection of the patient's hands, managing to reach a design proposal for a food transport machine and disinfect bacteria or viruses in the environment.

Detoxification of Meghalayan cherry (Prunus nepalensis) kernel and its effect on structural and thermal properties of proteins

Valorizing food wastes and by-products can improve economic and environmental sustainability of the food production chain. In this regard, Meghalayan cherry kernels are a good source of proteins, but the presence of toxic compounds like amygdalin, makes them underutilized. Therefore, the present study was focused on detoxifying Meghalayan cherry kernel using thermal, soaking and ultrasound treatments and studying their impact on the structural and thermal characteristics of protein isolate. The results showed that all three treatments significantly reduced amygdalin content, with complete detoxification achieved after 30 and 60 min at 70 °C and 60 °C, respectively, in ultrasound, and after 90 and 120 min at 70 °C and 60 °C, respectively, in soaking + thermal treatment. The detoxification treatments significantly affected the protein content and weight-loss of Meghalayan cherry kernel. Fluorescence spectroscopy and FTIR showed alterations in Meghalayan cherry kernel protein isolate (MCKPI) secondary and tertiary structure. The fluorescence intensity was observed at 340 nm for native and detoxified protein isolate, and the lowest peak for MCKPI-US depicts conformational changes. The fading of bands in SDS-PAGE confirms structural changes due to thermal and sonication effects. SEM images demonstrated that more cracks and porous structures were seen in treated MCKPI than native MCKPI. Detoxification treatment increased thermal stability, resulting in lesser weight loss and higher denaturation temperature than native MCKPI. In this study, ultrasound treatment demonstrated the most pronounced effects on the detoxification of MCKPI and its thermal and structural properties, suggesting that Meghalayan cherry kernel is one of the most promising substrates for zero-waste bioprocess development.

Prevalence and molecular characterization of typhoidal and non-typhoidal Salmonella isolated from meat and environmental samples of retail shops of Lahore Punjab, Pakistan.

Non-typhoidal Salmonellae are important foodborne bacterial pathogens that can cause bacteremia, gastroenteritis, and subsequent infection. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella in the live bird market and retail shops of Lahore (Pakistan). A total of 720 samples of chicken meat, chopping board, cages, hands, and transportation vans were collected. Salmonella was recovered from 103 (14.36%) samples. The highest prevalence (33.33%) was found in transportation van samples followed by chicken meat samples (17.26%). In the towns of Lahore, the highest prevalence was found in Samanabad Town (19%) followed by Data Ganj Bakhsh Town (17%) with the lowest in Gulberg Town (6.9%). Salmonella Typhimurium was most common (35.92%) followed by S. Enteritidis (25.24%), S. Dublin (14.56%), S. Gallinarum biovar Gallinarum (8.74%), and untyped Salmonella species (15.53%). This was the first baseline study of the prevalence of non-typhoidal Salmonella at the live bird market and retail shops of Lahore. Implementation of appropriate control measures is required at both the human side and poultry food production chain to reduce the burden and transmission of the zoonotic Salmonellae.

Stress Exposure of Evolved Bacteriophages under Laboratory versus Food Processing Conditions Highlights Challenges in Translatability.

Bacterial viruses, or bacteriophages, are highly potent, target-specific antimicrobials. Bacteriophages can be safely applied along the food production chain to aid control of foodborne pathogens. However, bacteriophages are often sensitive to the environments encountered in food matrices and under processing conditions, thus limiting their applicability. We sought to address this challenge by exposing commercially available Listeria monocytogenes bacteriophage, P100, to three stress conditions: desiccation, elevated temperature, and low pH, to select for stress-resistant bacteriophages. The stressed bacteriophage populations lost up to 5.1 log10 in infectivity; however, the surviving subpopulation retained their stress-resistant phenotype through five passages with a maximum of 2.0 log10 loss in infectivity when exposed to the same stressor. Sequencing identified key mutation regions but did not reveal a clear mechanism of resistance. The stress-selected bacteriophage populations effectively suppressed L. monocytogenes growth at a modest multiplicity of infection of 0.35-0.43, indicating no trade-off in lytic ability in return for improved survivability. The stressed subpopulations were tested for survival on food grade stainless steel, during milk pasteurization, and within acidic beverages. Interestingly, air drying on stainless steel and pasteurization in milk led to significantly less stress and titer loss in bacteriophage compared to similar stress under model lab conditions. This led to a diminished benefit for stress-selection, thus highlighting a major challenge in real-life translatability of bacteriophage adaptational evolution.

Digital farming, invisible farmers

Digital technologies have been gradually penetrating agricultural production systems; specially, in the last two decades, generating both expectations and concerns because of the unknown technological scope and the speed of the transformations. While some sectors are enthusiastic on the potential of digital tools have to contribute efficiently in food production, to achieve agri-food sustainability and to mitigate climate change, others are concerned about the challenges digital technologic will produce on political, social and cultural fields. The embeddedness, conditions, and usage of digital technologies in the agriculture sector raise questions on how and who participates on Global Production Networks and shape governance structures and policies orientation underpinning them. In the current landscape, just some few Global Networks with different forms of economic and political power are dominating digitalisation worldwide. They have the control of technologies to implement digital agriculture at the global scale. Governmental institutions both at international and national level foster financial and market policies to invest and promote in digitalisation what has impacts on the shifting of food systems. This article examines the dynamics of power concentration wielded by the Global Networks that, through large transnational corporations, have managed to dominate different sectors of the food chain by implementing digital systems for agriculture. It also presents an analysis of land concentration and big data and the possible implications for small producers and traditional food systems in Latin America. It suggests that while some digital services can contribute to improving and alleviating the challenges facing agricultural production, others could increase the concentration of power in a few hands by appropriating sensitive information from Big Data and adapting it to industrial food production and food value chains and posing fundamental challenges to governance structures.

Design and 3D printing of an electrochemical sensor for Listeria monocytogenes detection based on loop mediated isothermal amplification

The aim of this work is the design and 3D printing of a new electrochemical sensor for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes based on loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). The food related diseases involve a serious health issue all over the world. Listeria monocytogenes is one of the major problems of contaminated food, this pathogen causes a disease called listeriosis with a high rate of hospitalization and mortality. Having a fast, sensitive and specific detection method for food quality control is a must in the food industry to avoid the presence of this pathogen in the food chain (raw materials, facilities and products). A point-of-care biosensor based in LAMP and electrochemical detection is one of the best options to detect the bacteria on site and in a very short period of time. With the numerical analysis of different geometries and flow rates during sample injection in order to avoid bubbles, an optimized design of the microfluidic biosensor chamber was selected for 3D-printing and experimental analysis.For the electrochemical detection, a novel custom gold concentric-3-electrode consisting in a working electrode, reference electrode and a counter electrode was designed and placed in the bottom of the chamber. The LAMP reaction was optimized specifically for a primers set with a limit of detection of 1.25 pg of genomic DNA per reaction and 100% specific for detecting all 12 Listeria monocytogenes serotypes and no other Listeria species or food-related bacteria. The methylene blue redox-active molecule was tested as the electrochemical transducer and shown to be compatible with the LAMP reaction and very clearly distinguished negative from positive food samples when the reaction is measured at the end-point inside the biosensor.

Digital transformation for improving sustainable value of products and services from agri-food systems

Value is routinely concentrated at the final links of food production chains as a consequence of market failures or asymmetries that distribute wealth unevenly in agri-food supply systems. Otherwise, for products with a geographic origin, the share can be more equitably distributed by adding environmental, sociocultural or technological values to products associated with sustainable models. Protecting a geographic indication (GI) of value-added products requires complex collective rules of sui generis systems, certified trademarks or business practices, including the approval of protocols or even unfair protection suitlaws. These rules are created on multilevel legislations gathering intrinsic cultural, historical and economic features. As a result, GI schemes are typically costly thus preventing access of general smallholders in product-valued chains. Digital technologies like mobile applications have a promising role in minimizing these limitations along food production chains, from pre-production to production and post-production. The pervasive spread of mobile devices with useful built-in sensors can be therefore a major consequence of the digital transformation in agriculture by means of intuitive applications combined with high-level technologies such as cloud/edge computing and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). In this article, we present a new perspective on the digital transformation of the agri-food sector that may fasten smallholders' inclusion and access in market ecosystems of value-added products with GI. Such perspective demands the understanding of stakeholders networks for customizing mobile applications for digital authentication of product GI. The approach can foster new compliance schemes as those embedded in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) market initiatives.