Food quality and nutrition: towards sustainable and personalised dietary models

Spoke 4 works to develop dietary models capable of meeting the nutritional needs of individuals differing in age, sex, physiological condition, lifestyle, and metabolic profile. The research combines the reformulation of existing products (reducing critical issues such as excessive salt, sugar, and fat), the promotion of innovative and functional foods, and the development of strategies for precision nutrition.

At the core are plant-based models, considered an important pathway towards sustainability, yet requiring optimisation to ensure nutritional adequacy. The approach is multidisciplinary: nutritionists, food technologists, and companies collaborate to build consumer-acceptable solutions based on scientific evidence and advanced technologies.

Programme:

• Introduction and moderation (10’)
  Prof. Patrizia Riso (University of Milan), Prof. Daniele Del Rio (President, OnFoods Foundation)
• The need for food reformulation: current landscape and future challenges (20’)
  Prof. Daniela Martini (UniMi), TecnoAlimenti (speaker TBC)
• Round Table: biotechnological approaches for the production of foods and ingredients for specific targets (30’)
  Silvia Tagliamonte (UniNa), Leonardo Mancini (UniBa), Milena Brasca (CNR), Sacco System (speaker TBC)
• Plant-based foods: the future lies in multidisciplinary dialogue (10’)
  Alessandra Marti (UniMi), Margherita Dall’Asta (UniCatt)

Innovation and food safety: risk assessment, prevention and control

Food safety is a fundamental pillar of any innovation. Each year, around 600 million people fall ill due to pathogens, contaminants, or toxins in food, with severe health and economic consequences.

Spoke 3 develops tools to identify emerging and re-emerging risks, reduce the likelihood of contamination, and maintain high hygienic and sanitary standards within an increasingly complex food system. New technologies, production processes, and alternative ingredients offer opportunities to improve access to food and reduce environmental impact, but they also introduce new risks that must be prevented.

Programme:

• 11:00 – 11:20
  Assessment of emerging and re-emerging risks in the agri-food system
• 11:20 – 11:40
  Strategies for risk reduction and improvement of hygienic and sanitary quality
• 11:40 – 12:00
  Advanced analytical methods for the protection of safety and quality

Circular, sustainable and safe food systems

Every year, around one third of the food produced worldwide is lost along the supply chain, often during production and logistics stages.

Spoke 2 of OnFoods addresses this challenge through a circular economy approach, developing green processes and biotechnologies to transform waste and by-products into valuable resources. The goal is to make supply chains more resilient, transparent, and capable of generating value.

The research includes:

• smart logistics solutions to reduce surpluses and waste;
• sustainable physical and chemical methods to create new ingredients;
• efficient extraction techniques to recover bioactive compounds with high nutraceutical value;
• tools to measure circularity and ensure the safety and effectiveness of new processes.

Programme:

• Advanced logistics solutions for waste reduction
  Prof. Riccardo Accorsi (University of Bologna), Dr Giorgia Bartolotti (University of Bologna), Dr Michele Ronzoni (University of Bologna)
  DISCO
• Efficient and sustainable extractions for the recovery of bioactive compounds from agri-food waste and by-products
  Dr Francesca Annunziata (University of Milan)
  EXTRABIO
• Measuring sustainability and circularity in new green extraction processes: when is circularity truly sustainable?
  Dr Lucrezia Lamastra (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart)
  ONTRADE
• The hidden treasures of agri-food waste
  Dr Arianna Rossetti (Polytechnic University of Milan)
  CHARACTERBIO