New Food Citylab in Denmark under the FIT4FOOD2030 initiative

Aarhus University (Dept. of Food Science and iFOOD Centre for Innovative Food Research) has together with the City of Aarhus, Agro Food Park and Central Denmark Region been awarded as a Food Citylab under the FIT4FOOD2030 initiative.

FIT4FOOD2030 supports the development and implementation of the European Commission’s FOOD 2030 policy framework – to find solutions to the challenges facing our food systems. This transformation is needed to future-proof the European food systems: to make them more sustainable and resilient, and to find solutions for the many food-related challenges Europe is facing, including hunger, malnutrition, obesity, climate change, scarce resources, and waste.

Aarhus will have its FOOD Lab in 2020

The Aarhus FOOD LAB for citizen engagement will be coordinated by Aarhus University, the Food Science department, targeting to foster the connection with local communities on the key issue of getting food systems ready for the future through research and innovation.

The Aarhus FOOD LAB will in 2020 organise two workshops with citizens and consumer organisations as well as relevant industry actors on the citizens’ mandate for change in the food system. The workshops will specifically focus on establishing an understanding of the links between food and well-being, and how foods can deliver functionality beyond nutrition.

Professor Milena Corredig, director of iFOOD explains: “There is an increasingly large gap in our society between the upper middle class and the poor, while the high pace of urbanisation is leaving behind the elderly and the marginalised. At Aarhus University (AU), a network called NFORM has recently received funding to focus on finding sustainable new food solutions by developing new partnerships between AU departments, public stakeholders, international collaborators, private companies and the citizens. The goal of this 2 year SDGs network is to create strong research evidence for developing new foods that will contribute to maintaining the physical and mental health and well-being of the individuals, preventing or improving chronic conditions, at any stage of life. Thus, the Aarhus ‘Food Citylab’ will build on existing events and actions of NFORM project to deliver competence building for the Aarhus FOOD community”.

Source: Aarhus University