On Tuesday 14th October, the EuroFIR team attended the hybrid conference All Hands on Biotech: Rethinking Agri-Food Sustainable Competitiveness, hosted by the European Food Forum at the European Parliament in Brussels (BE).
The event brought together policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and civil society representatives to discuss how biotechnology can support the green transition, strengthen food security, and reduce Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels.

From Farmers to Consumers: How Biotechnology Can Address Food System Challenges.
The first session was opened by MEP Morten Løkkegaard (Denmark, Renew Europe), who outlined the current state of the European biotech industry and highlighted its crucial role in driving decarbonisation and innovation across the agri-food chain. Industry representatives followed with insights into cutting-edge applications of biotechnology.
Tijn van Vugt (Belgium, Food Fermentation Europe) emphasised the importance of bridging research and industry to scale emerging technologies such as precision fermentation—a rapidly advancing area with potential to boost food security and sustainability. This approach is also central to FlavourFerm, in which EuroFIR is a partner, which aims to enhance flavour, quality, and sustainability in plant-based and fermented foods. Continuing on this theme, Anne Klock (Netherlands, DSM-Firmenich) showcased cheese production as a practical example of biotechnology in action. She demonstrated how process optimisation and product innovation can increase competitiveness and funding opportunities through collaboration and scientific excellence.

Biotech Act: Which Policy Enablers Does Europe Need to Reap the Full Potential of Agri-Food Biotech?
The second panel focused on the policy landscape shaping biotechnology in Europe. Representatives from the European Commission and the Council of the EU Presidency discussed current frameworks and ongoing reforms aimed at simplifying administrative procedures and improving access to funding, particularly for SMEs. Søren Boserup Lauritsen (Denmark, EU Council Presidency) and Sergio Strozzi (Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) both underscored the need to reduce bureaucracy, enhance financing for start-ups, and foster partnerships linking investors, innovators, and policymakers.
Claire Skentelbery (Belgium, EuropaBio) highlighted the importance of maintaining Europe’s high safety standards while harmonising regulations to attract greater investment—especially for smaller companies. From the consumer perspective, Ens Brookman (Belgium, Euroconsumers) stressed how engaged consumers can drive market transformation by supporting brands that involve them in product development and commit to transparency and trust.
In closing, the Danish EU Council Presidency called for a systems-thinking approach to shape Europe’s biotech future—one that brings all stakeholders together to co-create smarter, greener, and more competitive agri-food policies. The conference reinforced a clear message: collaboration across sectors is essential to unlock the full potential of biotechnology for a sustainable and resilient food system.

On September 30th, EuroFIR took part in the hybrid event “From Excess to Impact: Reducing Food Waste and Feeding Communities,” held at the European Parliament to mark the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. Organized jointly by European Food Forum and The European Food Banks Federation (FEBA, by its French acronym) the event brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society to discuss one key question:

How can Europe keep reducing food waste while ensuring no one goes hungry?

To open the debate Olivér Várhelyi (HU) EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, called on everyone to take responsibility by cutting food waste and educating younger generations about sustainability and responsible consumption.

What Europe’s leaders had to say.

Several Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) shared their perspectives throughout the session. Anna Zalewska (PL, ECR), Rapporteur on the Waste Framework Directive, outlined the EU’s upcoming targets: by 2030, food manufacturers should reduce waste by 10%, and the hospitality and household sectors by 30%.

To reach these goals, collaboration will be key. Thus, MEP Mario Furore (IT, GUE/NGL) emphasized food redistribution as a practical way to fight both waste and food insecurity. Building upon this idea, Ana Miranda Paz (ES, Greens/EFA) framed food waste reduction as a moral obligation, tying it to the concept of food sovereignty, empowering citizens and ensuring fair access to food through sustainable practices.

Representing the European Commission, Klaus Berend (BE, DG SANTE) and Ruth Paserman (BE, DG EMPL) shared the roadmap for implementing the new Food and Textile Waste Directive. They explained how the law can impact food banks in each EU member state and stressed the importance of consulting national federations to ensure fair and effective implementation.

Food banks: leading by example.

MEPs Stefan Köhler (DE, EPP) and Pietro Fiocchi (IT, ECR), on behalf of the European Food Forum, thanked FEBA for co-organizing the event and highlighted the essential work of food banks in tackling waste. Bernard Valluis (FR, FEBA), FEBA President, presented the network’s main efforts, redistributing surplus

food to people at risk of food insecurity and raising public awareness around responsible consumption.

Adding a global perspective, Emily Broad Leib (US, Harvard University) presented The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas an innovative tool that maps and compares food donation policies worldwide. FEBA’s members also shared practical insights as Angela Ruttledge (IE, FoodCloud) explained how her organization supported the Irish government in shaping national food redistribution policies, contributing valuable expertise to the Atlas project.

Solutions across the value chain

Representatives from across the agrifood world brought their experiences and ideas as well.

On the side of consumers, Els Bruggeman (BE, EuroConsumers) highlighted how communicating sustainability through affordability can help households produce less waste while saving money. Whereas Els Bedert (BE, EuroCommerce) in representation of retailers, pointed out the carriers barriers to food donations, such as complex paperwork, unclear policy jurisdiction and inconsistent tax incentives across the EU. Finally manufacturers through Alessandro Piccione’s (BE, FoodDrinkEurope) and Jovana Mitrovic’s (NL, Tetra Pak) interventions reaffirmed the food industry’s commitment to sustainability, with Mitrovic emphasizing how innovative packaging and continuous research can extend product shelf life and reduce food waste.

Moving forward together

By the end of the event, one message stood out: only through collaboration across sectors can we create lasting solutions.

At EuroFIR, we strongly support these kinds of dialogues. They help bridge the gap between policy and everyday action — engaging everyone along the food chain in building a fairer, stronger, and more sustainable food system for all.

EuroFIR e-learning module “Nutrient analysis for non-chemists”

The EuroFIR e-learning modules were created together with the University of Wageningen and the software company Topshare, both based in The Netherlands. EuroFIR acknowledges the University of Wageningen for it’s great effort and excellent teamwork in this activity as a partner of the EuroFIR project. You have to agree on the licensing agreement Full version, 2010. (zip file – 27 MB) To run the full version of the e-learning module first read these instructions: 1) first download the zip file on to your computer Full 2) open the folder ‘EuroFIR e-learning’ 3) open the file with the name ‘index.html’ in your web browser and start the program. Recommended web browsers are Internet Explorer and Mozilla FireFox or Safari for Mac users. Your browser may be protected against pop-ups. In this case the following message is displayed on top: “To help protect your system…..” Click on this message and select: Allow blocked contents.

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