METU was the only Turkish project selected for a 117-applicant EU alternative-protein research program

What Happened

A team led by Prof. Dr. Mecit Halil Öztop at METU's (ODTÜ) Food Engineering Department was accepted into the EU-backed APRISE project, focused on developing and researching alternative proteins from plants and industrial by-products — including chickpea- and lentil-derived proteins with naturally boosted protein content for long-shelf-life, high-protein foods. The project was one of only 13 accepted out of 117 applications submitted to the European Commission, and the sole Turkish project selected, with partner institutions across Germany, Sweden, Malta, Greece, Italy, Poland, the UK, North Macedonia, Spain and Denmark.

Why It Matters

Being the only Turkish project selected out of 117 applicants is a genuinely competitive, externally-validated signal — this isn't a domestic grant, it's Turkish food engineering research clearing a European Commission bar against applicants from across the continent.

1 of 13 projects accepted out of 117 — and the only one from Turkey.

FET's Takeaway

Targeting chickpea- and lentil-derived proteins specifically is a smart regional choice — these are crops Turkey already grows and processes at scale, so a successful formulation here has a real domestic supply chain to plug into, not just a lab result looking for a market.