We wish to express our high interest to colaborate in the PRIMA project proposal joinging you as an associated partner.

The Higher School of agrifood Industries of Tunis (ESIAT), is a public institution created in 1976 and which vocation is higher education, research in the field of food science, food biotechnology and food process. ESIAT is financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fishery (MARHP), represented by the Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education (IRESA) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Tunisia and is attached to the University of Carthage (UCAR).

ESIAT ensures a single training in industries food to allow the graduates: to direct line productions, to control and optimize quality and to design new products. The courses provided by ESIAT are applied license in industries and food processes, engineering, master and PhD. It provides high quality of research and education with a strong potential and high importance in Tunisian agrifood sector. ESIAT contributes to technological innovation in the agricultural, agro-industrial and forestry sectors in Tunisia thanks to its Research unity Food science and Bio conservation since 2013 converted recently in a research laboratory called “Technological innovation and food security, LITSA” LR 22AGR01 in 2022. ESIAT benefits of a second research laboratory " Innovation & Valorisation for a sustainable food industry" (LIVIAD/LR21AGR04)
ESIAT benefits of its own business incubator ”Food Tech” since 2009, with a wide experience in coaching for stat ups and experiences of conception of their innovative products in the technologic Hall of ESIAT and its FABLAB, sensory laboratory and its 10 other food process laboratories. ESIAT has audio-visual technologies used both in the field of education and training, providing video conference and streaming support; multimedia and interactive courses, e-learning platforms; audiovisual materials; web design assistance, etc.

Two departments are developed at ESIAT: Food engineering sciences and Food technology. More than 30 scientific papers are published by the teaching-researcher staff of ESIAT each year in different international journals. About 18 Master students and 5PhD thesis are graduated each year.

ESIAT has a large experience in the management of projects of development with local authorities, its socioeconomic partners. It has more than 20 cooperation convention with the most important national and international organizations (FAO, GIZ, APIA, Technological Pole of Bizerte, PCB, UTICA, etc.), technological centres, professional structures and industries in Tunisia. ESIAT is implementing at the moment several projects of national and regional interest, as well as having good international collaboration promoting and supporting local development processes in order to exploit the resources and local specificities products.

Research focused mainly on physical attributes, chemical and nutritional food, the valorisation of bioactive natural products, functional food, quality control, quality insurance and certification in response to the expanding of quality requirement of population and its subsequent demands for safe food and good health. The focus of food research includes optimizing the eating quality and nutritional value of various foods; developing and evaluating novel production and processing methods, such as non-chemical product of foods e.g. using natural and biological processes. ESIAT collaborate with agricultural sector and territorial development in establishing good practices manuals in relation with technical processing ensuring high quality of local agro-food products. It facilitates the know-how exchange for the creation of innovative and sustainable milk products and meat thanks to a cross border network of breeders/cheese producers, research organizations. Open information days, national seminars and scientific days are organised every year at ESIAT inviting farmers, industries, scientists, professionals (private and public sector), associations,… to present scientific research results, success stories among Food Tech start-ups, …. Transfer of knowledge for development of local products.

During 50 years of existence, ESIAT has participated in several international research projects with national and international partners (France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece,…) with an experience in managing and implementing international projects. Two European projects PAR-PAA and Lactimed “Valorising dairy products in Mediterranean countries” with CIHEAM- IAM of Montpellier, a Belgian project on essential oils and food security were coordinated by colleagues from ESIAT. Also, from 2017 till present, two ERASMUS projects funded by the EU were coordinated by colleagues from ESIAT. Three Spanish Tunisian projects funded by AECI, were coordinated by ESIAT. Also, ESIAT was a member of many other projects coordinated by Italian, French and Turkish partners in the context of European or bilateral collaboration.

Based on its large experience in international collaboration, ESIAT provides research on physical attributes, chemical and nutritional food, the valorisation of bioactive natural products, functional food, quality control, quality insurance and certification in response to the expanding of quality requirement of population and its subsequent demands for safe food and good health. The focus of food research includes optimizing the eating quality and nutritional value of various foods; developing and evaluating novel production and processing methods, such as non-chemical product of foods e.g. using natural and biological processes. ESIAT collaborate with agricultural sector and territorial development in establishing good practices manuals in relation with technical processing ensuring high quality of local agro-food products. It facilitates the know-how exchange for the creation of innovative and sustainable milk products and meat thanks to a cross border network of breeders/cheese producers, research organizations.

value chain development, sustainability, functional food, nutritional quality; novel products and processing methods, biological processes, good practices manuals, local agro-food products, food security.

We wish to express our high interest in your project proposal. In case of approval, we will follow the project closely and are interested in joining its activities wherever appropriate in the status of an associated partner.