MAISTAR

Resistant STArch from Italian MAize

The MAISTAR project aims to support the revitalisation of the Italian maize sector, with a particular focus on Lombardy, through a strategic repositioning that combines farmers’ competitiveness with modern consumer health needs.

The project’s objective is to develop an innovative resistant starch (RS)-based ingredient derived from Italian white maize. This solution is intended to improve the glycaemic profile and reduce the caloric content of staple products such as pasta and bakery goods, providing added value especially within the gluten-free sector.

Specific Project Actions (Work Packages – WPs):

• WP1 – Coordination: strategic project management, process monitoring, quality control and reporting activities, ensuring compliance with timelines and objectives.
• WP2 – Field trials: testing of an advanced agronomic protocol over two growing seasons. By comparing standard practices with innovative strategies, the project evaluates the effectiveness of biostimulants and beneficial microorganisms in controlling plant pathogens, improving soil health and protecting crops sustainably.
• WP3 – Experimental trials and co-product studies: development of low-water procedures for extracting resistant starch from white maize, together with the assessment and optimisation of thermal cycles for the production of thermostable RS.
• WP4 – Scale-up and scientific validation: transfer of production from laboratory to pilot scale. This activity includes the physico-chemical characterisation of the ingredient and the scientific validation of its health-related benefits
• WP5 – Feasibility analysis and exploitation: definition of the conditions required for market uptake. The project also evaluates economic, technical and environmental sustainability in order to provide ready-to-use and easily adoptable solutions for supply chain companies.
• WP6 – Dissemination and communication activities.

MAISTAR aims to provide the supply chain with:

1. A versatile and sustainable RS ingredient derived from Italian white maize, capable of transforming bakery and pasta products into high-fibre functional foods.
2. Increased productivity for maize farms through cultivation protocols designed to counter plant pathogens and improve crop resilience to climate change.
3. Valorisation of supply chain by-products by reintegrating them into the production cycle, thereby minimising environmental impact and increasing the overall profitability of the supply chain.

The Operational Group’s partners include: Open Fields (coordinator), La Sanfermese, Corn Valley, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, and seven Lombardy-based farms (Società Agricola Agrifacchini, Andreani Marco, Società Agricola Bonfante Luciano Corrado e Davide, Bortesi Lorena, Cerato Paolo, Parise Francesco, and Società Agricola Ponte Molino).

WEBSITE: www.maistar.it/en/

ROLE: Coordinator

DURATION: 30 months (24 March 2026 – 24 September 2028)

BUDGET: € 434.200,10

TOTAL CONTRIBUTE: € 434.200,10

FUNDING PROGRAM: Complement for Rural Development of the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 of the Lombardy Region, Intervention SRG01 – Support for EIP-AGRI Operational Groups

PROCEDURE N.: 202503305244

CUP: E87F26000000009