We are thrilled to share the highlights from this year’s ILSI Europe Annual Symposium, hosted alongside our Early Career Scientists (ECS) event at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and organised in collaboration with DTU Skylab. With over 100 registrations, both gatherings were marked by engaging discussions, groundbreaking ideas, and strengthened connections across the food, health, and sustainability sectors.
Empowering the Next Generation: Highlights from the ECS Event
The ECS event provided early career scientists with unique opportunities to showcase their research. It combined thought-provoking discussions, scientific insights, and opportunities for professional growth, all woven together with an emphasis on collaboration and actionable solutions.
The day kicked off with an inspiring welcome by Mikkel Sørensen, Director of DTU Skylab, setting the tone for a morning of exploration into sustainable design principles.
Green by Design: Innovating with Sustainability in Mind
In the first session, we learned that circularity can be realized at multiple points in supply chain. Prof. Francesco Rosati showcased transformative business models for regenerative systems. Then, three early career scientists presented their research:
- Sabina Dahal revealed the potential of probiotics in industrial-scale yellow mealworm farming, commonly used nutrient recycling. In such closed system pests and disease outbreaks are a challenge. Her research aims to assess whether supplementation of probiotic-enriched diet affect growth and nutritional value of yellow mealworm larvae. This could be a mean to prevent disease occurrence during nutrient recycling, opening doors for sustainable protein sources.
- Bina Bhattarai emphasized circular food packaging's role in a sustainable economy, not forgetting the challenge of chemical food safety that needs to be addressed.
- Adam Fogarasi reminded us that climate friendly diets don't equal sustainable diets. A sustainable diet requires a holist approach. The HEAT project he presented aims to develop sustainable dietary solutions for up to ten European countries, focusing on the environmental sustainability, nutritional adequacy, health, cultural preferences and economic feasibility. He stressed that understanding synergies and trade-offs is key.
The "10R principles" served as a powerful narrative throughout, inspiring participants to envision sustainability as a holistic, multi-step journey. Exploring the relationships between planetary and human health is essential to develop balanced recommendations that work in practice.
Up-cycling the up-cyclable: new perspectives in green, bio-based, and circular valorisation of food waste and food by-products
The second session delved into the transformative potential of bio-based and circular strategies for food waste valorization. Prof. Giancarlo Cravotto showcased a panel of non-conventional technologies to optimize by-product valorization. Then again, three young researchers took the floor:
- Simone Krings demonstrated the power of bacteria in converting organic waste into valuable molecules.
- Vincenzo Disca highlighted the potential of cocoa bean shells as functional fiber-rich ingredients.
- Maame Ekua Manful brought critical regulatory insights, focusing on the future of upcycled novel foods in the EU.
These presentations underscored the pressing need to rethink waste as a resource, paving the way for resilient food systems. Some of key challenges highlighted in the session are the gaps in novel foods definition and standardisation (Are upcycled foods novel foods?), and the difficulties of upscaling from lab pilot to industrical scale.
During our Career Development session, attendees engaged with representatives from COST Association, DTU Skylab, and the European Nutrition Leadership Platform, fostering meaningful connections and insights.
From the Ground Up: Exploring the Vital Links between Soil Health and Sustainable Food Systems
In the afternoon, an interactive session explored soil health's critical role in sustainable agriculture, starting with a quiz for the audience. Dr. Ferran Romero’s keynote addressed the intricate connections between soil microbial diversity and soil health. Poster pitches by early career scientists added a dynamic touch, covering topics like soil-building perennial grains, Mediterranean agroecosystem management, and innovative bio-stimulants for vineyards. The session illuminated the urgent need for soil regeneration as a cornerstone of sustainable food production.
Food 2030: The EU's Research and Innovation policy framework
Rosalinda Scalia closed the sessions with a compelling presentation on the EU’s Food 2030 policy framework. Her talk offered a strategic vision for achieving sustainable, healthy, and inclusive food systems, emphasizing the need for policies that respect planetary boundaries. She presented the Food2030 Community -with its Project Collaboration Network in which our project TITAN participates- and the FutureFoodS calls that will be running for 10 years. A Strategic Dialogue will be held in March 2025 to build the future policy agenda of the EU on food and agriculture (next Framework Programme).
The day concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing exceptional presentations of two early career scientists, and an exclusive tour of DTU Skylab, where innovation meets action.
Driving Progress: Highlights from the Annual Symposium
At the Annual Symposium, ILSI Europe’s Food Safety and Nutrition Task Forces showcased their impactful work, while key opinion leaders led stimulating discussions on future research directions.
The symposium opened with a warm welcome from Christine Nellemann, Dean of Sustainability, Diversity, Inclusion, and International Collaboration at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
Intelligent Manufacturing in the Food and Drink Sector: Opportunities and Challenges of Applied AI
In the morning, keynote speaker Alex Shenfield, Professor of Machine Learning at Sheffield Hallam University, took the audience on a journey through the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in food manufacturing. His talk explored how applied AI can optimize production, reduce waste, and enhance food safety. If the agrofood sector holds immense potential for transformation, AI integration remains underutilised. Yet by leveraging AI, we can take significant steps toward building more sustainable and efficient food systems.
Forever Young: Exploring Solutions for Healthy Aging and Nutrition
With the global population aging rapidly, the next session focused on Healthy Ageing, led by Prof, Bruno Pot who also introduced the new dedicated ILSI Europe Task Force. Presentations explored nutrition as a powerful tool for combating age-related health issues:
- Dr Juan Luis Sánchez-Sánchez shed light on appetite and malnutrition in older adults, providing a geroscience perspective. He asked whether we should focus on Prevention or Treatment. In the case of malnutrition, current prevention is rather poor, so timely interventions can help.
- Prof. Philip Calder explored the connections between immunity, inflammation and gut health, and the role of nutrition in mitigating age-related immune decline.
- Dr Peter J. Joris highlighted how mixed nut consumption benefits cognitive health in older adults.
- Prof. Ivan Bautmans discussed the concept of vitality capacity as the cornerstone of healthy aging: prevention and intervention are the windows of opportunity in intrinsic capacity.
Panel: Innovations in Food Safety
Simultaneously, a panel delved into the adaptation of food safety systems amidst changing environments. Discussions included presentations on EU-funded projects FoodSafeR and CATALYSE, outlining the needs of stakeholders for innovative approaches to food safety. The panel was invited to comment on the perspectives from industry, regulators, and researchers, emphasizing the need for collaboration and societal alignment in defining food safety standards. Strikingly, food safety experts had perspectives that differed from those of other stakeholders, such as policymakers and civil society. This divergence underscored the critical need for knowledge sharing and education.
Redefining Resilience: Innovations for a Sustainable Food Future
In the afternoon, our "Resilience" session tackled the urgent need to redesign food systems for health, equity, and sustainability. Prof. Olivier Jolliet introduced transition pathways towards healthy and sustainable food systems. Can healthy and sustainable diets can be aligned? In his opinion, "Yes, they can!". The challenge is now to have that reflected in policies. Louis Hinzen then provided insights on navigating volatility in the food industry, and shared some initiatives to strengthen crisis preparedness and resilience in Europe’s Food and Drink Industry, like the European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response mechanism (EFSCM) or FoodDrinkEurope's Food Investment and Resilience Plan. Finally, Prof. Daniela C. A. Pigosso presented the REBOUNDLESS project, with methods for achieving absolute sustainability in food production.
To enable effective risk analysis, is it time to update our understanding of social expectations of food safety?
In parallel, a second panel explored the alignment of food safety practices with societal expectations. Presentations included recent work form ILSI Europe expert groups on Food Contaminants definitions, presented by Dr. Neil Buck, and on the challenge of defining acceptable protection levels for allergic consumers, presented by Charlotte Madsen. Dr. Buck provoked the debate by challenging the existing hazard-centric approach towards food safety. Even if it served the society well so far, it is increasingly difficult in the modern era to differentiate ‘real’ risk mitigation from ‘perceived’ risk mitigation, and to verify societal benefits of the control measures applied.
Additionally, for Europe to stay in the competitive market, there is time pressure on companies. Besides the economical pressure, there is also the need to integrate food security and sustainability into decisions on how foods are managed. Therefore, Dr Buck postulated for an approach of which the outcome would be transparent and tangible benefit to health and society. The panelists debated around this concept shift and the question "it's time to update our understanding of social expectations of food safety?".
Taste the Future: A Journey into Tomorrow's Food Landscape
The symposium’s closing session offered a glimpse into the future of food innovation. The speakers painted a picture of a sustainable and tech-driven food landscape, with Mette Lübeck showcasing examples of innovative food technologies like precision fermentation, and Marija Banovic exploring consumer readiness for innovations.
Final speaker Prof. Roberta Sonnino truly inspired when sharing her vision on the future of the food landscape. She highlighted several actional points needed to address the food crisis:
- Communication: to researchers, her message boils down to "stop making things so complex: when talking to a policy maker, search for common language".
- The concept of sustainability intensification (increase food production while reducing environmental impacts) is connected with the concept of sustainable diets (restrain consumption of high-environmental impact foods and emphasis plant-based diets). Because of these linked, a systems thinking is needed.
To put this theory into practice, she shared a phramework developped during the FOODCLIC project.
This was food for thought!
Both events featured dynamic networking sessions that strengthened our collaborations with Denmark Technical University (DTU), Northern European partners, and participants from academia, industry, and public authorities. Attendees left with a wealth of knowledge and a renewed commitment to shaping a sustainable, healthy, and inclusive future for food and nutrition.
A heartfelt thank you to our inspiring speakers, the dedicated organizing committee, and all attendees for their invaluable contributions. Recordings and slides will soon be available made for those who attended.
We can’t wait to continue these impactful conversations at the next edition of our Annual Symposium in Brussels, in 2026!