Appointment for Life MUSCLES partners on November 10, 2023 in the Ligurian pilot area of La Spezia.
Representatives of Legambiente, Novamont, the University of Siena and the University of Bologna were present, hosted at the farm of the Cooperativa Mitilicoltori Associati where the offshore testing of biodegradable and compostable biopolymer socks was started.

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On this occasion Novamont was able to take a sample of the first type of biopolymer net being tested to train muscles in La Spezia, and then proceed with tests useful for validating the performance of the new socks in the open sea (action B.4.1) . The step following these initial investigations will then involve testing two other types of biopolymers selected to evaluate the best performance in a marine environment.

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The La Spezia mussel farmers' cooperative continues the experimentation by "pressing" mussels until adulthood, in order to reach the maximum load levels in the sea in the coming months, for a production cycle that will end in summer 2024.

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For the University of Bologna, however, it was the moment to collect a quantity of mussels raised in biodegradable stockings, in order to analyze and evaluate the productivity and quality of the product, where productivity is being evaluated in terms of growth parameters of the mussel, while the nutritional parameter brings out the composition of fatty acids, cholesterol, vitamins and mineral nutrients (action B.4.2).