Popeye

Popeye is a collaborative research project (type ICON) in which three companies collaborate with various research partners to reach a common objective. The project focuses on the problem of cadmium in spinach. Cadmium is a non-essential trace element that is sometimes present in high levels in the soil due to the non-ferro metal industry or the use of phosphate fertilisers. Some leafy vegetables, such as spinach, can absorb cadmium from the soil. This project researches how plant-associated micro-organisms or minerals can reduce the amount of cadmium that spinach absorbs.

Project partners

• Globachem
• Ardo
• J.T. Minerals
• Hasselt University – Research group Environmental Biology (CMKMB), under the supervision of Prof. Jaco Vangronsveld, Dr. Sofie Thijs
• Flanders’ FOOD