Last week, the Agrifood Cluster of Navarre (NAGRIFOOD) celebrated the FOODNAUTA: Pitch & Trends 2024 conference on food and innovation, where the European Biotech4Food project was presented as one with really positive prospects.
FOODNAUTA is a forum that is already one of the most important scenarios for knowledge transfer and inspiration to promote innovation in the agri-food sector in the northern region of Navarra (Spain). Its director, Sandra Aguirre, pointed out that “this third edition has focused on the trends that will affect the sector in the coming years, the promotion of cooperation and the drive for innovation, and the importance of increasing Navarre’s presence in Europe.
This makes the event a good opportunity to present the project to some of the region’s authorities and to motivate Navarrese companies to take an interest in collaborating with European partners and taking part in groundbreaking projects arising from the European Commission’s proposals.
This year, the event took place in the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and almost 30 experts debated about some of the latest’s innovations in the agrifood industry and the trends for the next year.
Firstly, there was a short presentation on the “Top 10 Trends in Food 2024”, highlighting issues such as rising food prices, increasing cyber-attacks and sustainability as the main concerns of today’s consumers. Endika Lekaroz, Director of Innovation and Business Development at ZINK INSPIRATION & TRENDS SL, highlighted the main points to consider.
Ángela San Román, Innovation and Sustainability Technician at NAGRIFOOD, presented the Biotech4Food project in the PITCH section, among other truly innovative projects. She started with a short introduction to the project and later went into more detail about the different objectives.
One of the aspects she focused onwas the main mission of the project: To achieve a stronger collaboration between the biotechnology sector and the agro-food industry.
Some of the objectives highlighted during the presentation were the will to make the industry more sustainable, to apply a circular economy methodology, to continue working on a ‘farm to fork’ strategy by trying to solve some of the problems created by the protein shift, to listen to specific consumer demands, to clean label food additives, to improve the nutritional profile of the food we consume in our daily lives and to discover new business models and opportunities.
During the Biotech4Food presentation, the consortium and industrial partners were also introduced. As well as the European Commission’s contribution to the project.
During the Biotech4Food presentation, the consortium and industrial partners were also introduced. As well as the European Commission’s contribution to the project.
The final part of the presentation highlighted the challenges related to biotechnology and its use in the agri-food sector that the project will have to address:
- Regulatory and legal barriers.
- Competition against more traditional ingredients.
- The financing needs of this technology.
- Access to specific knowledge and expertise.
Finally, at the end of the presentation, San Román showed the website and some of the communication materials that have already been published.
After this part, the catalogue ‘NAGRIFOOD Innovation Network: Your reference guide for R&D&I projects (AL-INN-EUROPE)’, a document that brings together technology centers, universities and research agents from all over Europe, was presented. During the presentation, the Vice-President of the Government of Navarre stressed that “it is becoming increasingly important to seek and find effective solutions to the various challenges facing the agri-food sector. This is why both cooperation and research are essential“.
One of the centers featured in the catalogue was present at the event: Dr. Martin Ramos Diaz from the LUKE Natural Resources Institute Finland presented the present and future perspectives of plant-based products and some of the new technologies they are using at the LUKE Institute to address the current challenges.
The FOODNAUTA: Pitch & Trend Event concluded with a panel discussion with regional food companies: SANYGRAM, SOLIDUS Videcart and FOODY’S, where some of the success stories of these companies were presented.
FOODNAUTA was one of the first internal events of a consortium partner where the Biotech4Food project had its own space. We will keep you updated on some of the upcoming conferences where the project will be presented.
