The Finland-China Food and Health network, which promotes cooperation between Finland and China in food science and technology, organised the Forest Food in China and Finland symposium in Hangzhou, China, on 19–21 May 2024.
How to respond to growing consumer expectations for ecological, plant-based or healthy food? How can societies ensure sustainable food production? Researchers are looking for solutions to questions that are rapidly transforming the entire food industry. The University of Turku launches a new degree programme in food technology in the autumn to meet the growing demand for experts in the industry.
The Symposium "Food for Sustainability and Health” gathers eighty experts and professionals in Turku during August 15-16th 2023. The Finland China Food and Health network aims to promote the collaboration among universities of the two countries as well as to enhance the cooperation between academia and industry to upgrade science and to create innovation.
Anthocyanins in plants have properties that reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, shows a new review article from the Food Sciences unit of the University of Turku, Finland. Anthocyanins are red, purple and blue pigments found in fruits, vegetables, and tubers.
Cereal foods already play a major role in the diet in most countries worldwide, as the main dietary source of energy, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, and plant-based protein. However, currently, less than half of the grains are used for human consumption. Changes in grain consumption and novel cereal protein-enriched food innovations could play a major role in transitioning towards a more sustainable food system for healthy diets, conclude Nordic researchers in a joint review published in Nutrition Reviews.
The food industry produces substantial amounts of side streams rich in valuable components such as proteins and fibers. Currently, most of these side streams are used as animal feed or end up as biowaste. The PROWASTE project, led by the the University of Turku developed effective and green processes for extracting proteins and fibers from brewer’s spent grain and canola press cake, two major side streams formed from food processing in Europe.
The time is now ripe for changes in the Finnish food system. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the universities of Helsinki, Turku and Eastern Finland, the Natural Resources Institute Finland, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, and the Finnish Food Safety Authority set the direction for food research, which aims is to make Finland a key player in the transition to a healthy and sustainable global food system. At the same time, new opportunities for economic growth are being created in Finland.
In 2018, the University of Turku received a donation from the Raisio Research Foundation worth of €500,000 for funding the first five years of the professorship in Food Development with special focus on Nordic foods and their health effects. The new professorship focuses on the study of the plants cultivated in Finland, supports the export of Finnish foods that are based on sustainable development, and promotes well-being by advancing the development of healthy foods.
According to consumer evaluations, quinoa as well as Andean and narrow-leaved lupins are well suited for smoothies and snack products. Researchers studied how crops with promising qualities, namely quinoa and lupin, can be used in sustainable food production.