Nota de prensa enviada por FoodDrinkEurope sobre el 6º encuentro de innovación y tecnología de la Plataforma Tecnológica europea Food for Life. 22 de noviembre de 2011. Bruselas.

1. ETP ‘Food for Life’ promotes research and
innovation
(22 November 2011) The European Technology Platform (ETP) „Food for Life‟ held
its 6th stakeholder event, followed by a brokerage event, on 22 November in
Brussels.
Looking towards the establishment of a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda
to feed into the 8th Framework Programme „Horizon 2020‟, the event brought
together 150 stakeholders from across academia and industry. It also included
contributions from the European Commission and food chain partners.
The morning session was dedicated to the ETP‟s draft Strategic Research and
Innovation Agenda. Stakeholders looked at how the Agenda can increase funding,
better coordinate research, preventing duplication, and promote SME participation in
R&D activities. It was clear that the ETP can mobilise the stakeholder community,
contributing to sharing knowledge on food related activities in Europe.
There were also calls to establish a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) for
food. Providing a platform to promote large-scale industry-driven research and
enhance the development of major technologies, KICs can act as a catalyst for major
research investments, boosting technology transfer.
The afternoon session included a brokerage event where researchers presented over
40 research ideas to potential partners under the broad headings “food and health”,
“food safety” and “sustainability”. The brokerage event, the first of its kind, marks a
new stage in the Platform‟s six years and aims to boost public-private partnerships
with a view to fostering successful innovations in the food industry, thus promoting
growth.
Commenting on the event‟s success, Dr Mike Knowles, President of the ETP Board,
said: “Today‟s ETP stakeholder event demonstrates the importance of the ETP for
the industry. It is through R&D and innovation that manufacturers remain at the
cutting edge of developments, boosting the industry‟s competitiveness and, in turn,
contributing to Europe‟s future economic growth.”
– ENDS –
For further information:
Beate Kettlitz, FoodDrinkEurope, Director, Food Policy, Science and R&D
Tel. +32 2 514 11 11, Mob. +32 478343494
b.kettlitz@fooddrinkeurope.eu