The WiseFood EU Project Launched: Using Data and AI to Pave the Way for Healthier and Eco-Conscious Food Choices

The WiseFood project, funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe, was officially launched in January 2025, with a vision to promote healthier dietary habits and reduce ecological footprints through three user-friendly and AI-powered applications. The project aims to empower citizens to make well-informed and eco-conscious food choices at the household level. Coordinated by the Information Management Systems Institute of Athena Research Center, this three-year initiative unites 9 partners from 7 countries, working together to provide trustworthy, curated food data and recommendations on nutrition, health, and sustainability.
Why Does the WiseFood Project Matter?
Making healthy and sustainable food choices requires access to accurate information. However, citizens often face misinformation or information overload on the Web and social media. The WiseFood project seeks to address this challenge by offering a holistic approach that democratises access to reliable data and provides actionable recommendations that inspire behaviour changes.
Project coordinator and Principal Researcher at Athena Research Center, Dr Dimitris Skoutas explains the broader vision:
“WiseFood is a project with the potential to make a substantial impact on individuals and the planet. Our goal is to democratise access to trustworthy food-related information by bringing together diverse expertise, including researchers, policymakers, food producers, nutritionists, and more. I’m proud to work alongside the remarkable experts within our consortium, and I truly believe in our collective efforts to leverage data and AI to build a more sustainable food system.“
Advanced Technology, Expert Knowledge, and Practical Usability
The project will develop digital applications designed for knowledge extraction, optimisation of recipes for both nutritional value and environmental impact, as well as personalised meal plans and recipe suggestions that reduce food waste and offer healthier and more sustainable alternatives.
By implementing these solutions in real-world settings through Living Labs in Ireland, Hungary, and Slovenia, WiseFood will ensure its solutions are relevant, adaptable, and widely applicable.
WiseFood’s Principal Investigator and Lecturer at School of Population Health, RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) which takes active part in the project’s Living Labs, Dr Claire Timon adds:
“Through the WiseFood project, we aim to leverage the power of data and artificial intelligence to empower households to make healthier and more sustainable food choices. By co-designing and evaluating the WiseFood applications across our living labs, this initiative aims to empower individuals to make informed decisions, ultimately enhancing population health and contributing to a more sustainable future.”
When Data Feeds Decisions
WiseFood will develop three applications:
1.FoodScholar: An application providing easier access to trustworthy, curated food data on nutrition, health, and sustainability, such as scholarly articles and official guides.
2.RecipeWrangler: A solution designed to calculate, compare and optimise the nutritional value and sustainability of cooking recipes.
3.FoodChat: A food recommender system that facilitates a behavioural shift towards healthier and more sustainable food choices.
The WiseFood project is dedicated to developing these applications in line with national nutritional policies and sustainability standards. That is why the findings from the Living Labs, where citizens will co-design the solutions with experts, will be accumulated in a Mirroring Guideline document to help the app implementation in different European countries. The project has received €2.85 million in funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and it gathers a consortium from Greece, Belgium, Ireland, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia and the Netherlands.
All relevant information is available on the project’s website, as well as through its social media channels such as LinkedIn.
For more insight from Dr Dimitris Skoutas, take a look at the newest WiseFood statement.