The future of innovation

The world’s and society’s challenges demand urgent solutions: protecting the environment, feeding the growing population, food waste, scarcity of natural resources and energy…these are all cause for concern. Thankfully, there are solutions to be found: in innovation, chain integration, collaborative partnerships, ICT-based process improvements... in other words, in ‘Smart Industry’.

Improved efficiency, flexibility, quality and customised manufacturing – those are the concrete objectives of the food sector today. We’re seeing examples of smart solutions in agriculture, with the emergence of precision farming using sensors, drones, satellite imagery and computers. Meanwhile, in city farming, crops are being cultivated in closed, conditioned ‘plant factories’ under smart LED lighting as close as possible to the consumers themselves. 3D food printing is making steady progress, and new processing and packaging methods are extending the shelf life of our food. The Netherlands has impressive innovative strength, as demonstrated by the numerous successful collaborations between the private sector, the public sector and academia. But is the rest of Europe ready to innovate too?

On 29 and 30 September I attended a European Parliament press seminar in Brussels about the new legislation on novel foods. Novel foods are defined as all the foodstuffs and ingredients which were sold within the European Union prior to 15 May 1997 as non-food items – e.g. products based on modern biotechnology or a new development technique, or exotic products which are traditionally regarded as foodstuffs elsewhere but are new to the EU (such as the juice/seeds of exotic plants and certain insects). An earlier attempt to update Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 ran aground in 2008 after getting bogged down in the topic of cloning.

Discussions became heated again this time, especially with respect to nanotechnology. I saw fear of change and heard how conservatism can thwart progress and innovation. In our next edition, we will be interviewing the Dutch Euro-parliamentarians Annie Schreier Pierik (EPP) and Jan Huitema (ALDE) about the details of this new Regulation and their views on it.  

“We are in urgent need of new legislation to keep pace with the scientific developments in the food sector and to stimulate European innovation rather than stifle it,” commented rapporteur MEP James Nicholson. “Companies, governments and consumers all need transparency and a new framework.” The European Parliament is voting on the new Regulation on 14 October. I wonder what the outcome will be. Will this provide a new boost to the food industry?

Judith Witte

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