Innovation CATALYSEs Food Safety – Bridging Science and Practice
As a partner of the EU Project ‘CATALYSE’, Agroscope hosted a World Food Safety Day event on 8-9 June 2026. Presentations and further information can be found here.
This past 8 June, on World Food Safety Day, we had the pleasure of hosting the World Food Safety Day event organised as part of the EU Project ‘CATALYSE’.
Over 100 participants attended the presentations given by 15 experts, among them scientists, start-ups, industry leaders and government bodies. Discussions, which were both fruitful and compelling, focused on a common goal: to link research and scientific innovations to concrete practices along the entire food chain.
The day was structured around four key sessions with the aims of creating a food safety culture (From Vision to Action), exploring new cutting-edge research in this field (Science in Action) and discovering the innovations that transform research into practical solutions (Innovation in Action). Lastly, a round table encouraged participants to reflect on the concrete steps that would need to be taken to co-create a safer, more sustainable food system (Future in Action).
Two key moments in particular captured the attention of conference attendees:
- Our keynote speaker Awilo Ochieng Pernet impressed the audience with the metaphor of an old man planting an orange tree every day. Asked why he devoted so much energy to trees whose fruits he would never see, he replied: “I’ve enjoyed oranges all my life because others have planted trees before me. Now it’s my turn to plant so that future generations can enjoy them.” An inspiring reminder that food safety requires a pioneering spirit rooted in passion, prevention and proactivity, and that sharing our knowledge is essential.
- We closed the conference with a strategic round table that brought together an exceptional panel of experts: Karola Krell (Food Lex, expert in food law); Mark Stauber (FSVO, representing government bodies); Olivier Robin (Nestlé, representing industry) and Mario Hupfeld (NEMIS Technologies, representing innovative tech companies). From this fruitful and committed discussion, the following key takeaways emerged:
- Food safety is not a competitive edge. Commercial interest stops, and should always stop, where human health is at stake.
- Deploying new technologies or implementing strict regulations is not enough. The essence of safety lies in human behaviour and in establishing a genuine culture of safety within each company.
- Creating a food safety culture extending all the way to the consumer: Although companies and experts bear responsibility for internal food safety, it is essential and necessary to educate the end consumer regarding proper handling practices.
A huge thank-you to all participants for their productive contributions; to our co-organisers, Swiss Food Research, Swiss Biosafety Network and Nofima; and to all employees who helped make this event a genuine success.
