Successful W2FF kick-off with prospects for more

Shaping a sustainable food system - that is the declared goal of the Way to Future Food initiative, which started its first round of events last June as a partner project of the Nutrition Cluster at the Competence Centre for Nutrition (KErn) and the Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung with the "Digital Insect Symposium". In three complementary online formats, relevant impulses were given on the topics of "consumer protection", "food law" and studies on sensory and functional aspects of insects. Participation was free of charge for interested stakeholders in the food industry. In addition to exciting lectures and inspiring workshops, the almost 100 participants had the opportunity to enter into direct exchange with the insect experts. Beyond the pure information value, the format was also convincing in terms of networking: several partnerships were formed! Due to the positive feedback, we are looking forward to the planned insect symposium, which will take place in Kulmbach as soon as possible.

Digital Insect Symposium: Positive response from participating insect companies

The series of events "Digitial Insect Symposium" for the Way to Future Food kick-off was a complete success. The initiators, the Nutrition Cluster at the Competence Centre for Nutrition (KErn) and Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung, had invited interested stakeholders from the food industry to a three-part, complementary online format on the topic of insects. Participation was free of charge. The format was opened on 24.06.2021 by speaker Jutta Saumweber from the Verbraucherzentrale München. The head of the food and nutrition department presented the results of a market check on insects and a qualitative market research study on foods containing insects. Among the topics discussed were the lack of allergy labelling, inadmissible nutritional information and the pricing of insect products.

The focus of the follow-up event on 08.07.2021 was on the topic of insects and food law, which affects the future of European insect processing companies in a special way. The online workshop was conducted by Prof. Dr. Kai Purnhagen, holder of the Chair of Food Law at the Kulmbach Campus of the University of Bayreuth, who dedicates his research to the future regulatory challenges for the agricultural and food sector. He explained that edible insects were regulated as a novel food under the European Novel Food Regulation and had to be health assessed and approved in advance. However, with the help of a transitional arrangement, it was previously possible for companies to market the respective insect or products made from it as food even without authorisation, as long as an application for authorisation was submitted. "Insects and their regulatory environment will play a decisive role in the expected transformation process - especially in the field of alternative proteins," says Prof. Dr. Kai Purnhagen.

The series of events will conclude with a workshop by Dr Ofir Benjamin on 22.07.2021. He is a lecturer and scientist at the Institute of Food Science at Tel-Hai College in Israel. In the workshop, he reported on his research focus - the sensory and structure of insect foods. Among other things, he spoke about his experiences with grasshoppers and the brood of honey bees. All presentations were followed by the opportunity for direct exchange and networking, which was used by a total of almost 100 participants. This series of events has already led to value-added partnerships among the participants.

Presence event planned: Insect industry to meet in Kulmbach in 2022

Under other circumstances, the first Way to Future Food event on the topic of insects, for which around 30 insect-processing entrepreneurs from the D-A-CH region had registered, should have taken place in Kulmbach in autumn 2020. However, due to Corona, this date was postponed and an alternative programme was created with the Digital Insect Symposium. Insofar as possible, the physical insect symposium will be held in 2022. A corresponding concept has already been developed with the support of the Speiseinsektenverband Deutschland. The focus will be on two challenges facing the insect sector: In addition to the problem of neophobia, which describes the fear or disgust of European consumers of novel foods such as insects, the topic of taste will also play a central role. Detailed information on the Way to Future Food insect symposium will be published in due course on the Way to Future Food website and on the corresponding social media channels.