At the meeting, the first steps and the work plan were reviewed to begin a project that will help connect the cultivation of thistle with its actual use in cheese factories, favoring more sustainable solutions adapted to products with a strong territorial link. CARDUNNEXT will work on the study of cultivation, obtaining and improving vegetable coagulants and their application in different cheeses, in order to generate useful knowledge for the cheese sector and facilitate the transfer of results to cheese factories, regulatory councils, producers and administrations.

The Operational Group is made up of the CRDOP Torta del Casar, the Union of Torta del Casar Producers, the GDR Los Pedroches, the European Cheese Route Association (AREQ), Quesería Prestes, CTAEX and IMASDE AGROALIMENTARIA, which will collaborate in the different phases of the project from an agronomic, technological, cheese and informative perspective. The operation is financed by the European Union through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), within the framework of the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. This aid will allow the development of the activities planned to advance the valorization of thistle as a native and sustainable plant resource, as well as the dissemination of the results to the sector and all of the agents involved. Among the expected results are greater knowledge about the cultivation of thistle, the obtaining of fully characterized vegetable coagulants, their validation in different cheese productions and the implementation of communication and transfer actions that allow the results to be brought closer to the sector.