The EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation Webinar webinar on Food Tech held on 24 May from 9:00-10:30 CEST aimed to introduce the respective initiatives of European regions and Japanese prefectures on food innovation. From this perspective, experiences, and support on food industry in regions in Europe and Japan were presented and discussed.
The rationale of the webinar lays on the fact that there is a growing focus on ‘food innovation’ and food technology, which encompasses the entire food value chains including agriculture, food production, distribution, food service, food preparation, retail and delivery, restaurants, and among others, people’s dietary habits and values. Since, food is deeply rooted in local traditions and cultures, food innovation is expected to promote local economies and tourism through the creation of new value in the region and improve the value chain in related sectors: tourism, health, and agriculture.
During the webinar, two keynote speeches shared interesting experiences in Europe (Val d’Oise, and the Basque Country). Therefore, Gwenaëlle Brandelet Development Project Manager Logistics, Innovation and Development France (SEMMARIS) shared the experience on food innovation in Paris Region and Mr. Regelio Pozo, Managing Director of AZTI have delivered an interesting discourse as well on Basque Food Ecosystem.
Next, the intervention was made by Mr. Masaki Kamo, Director, Distribution and Strategy Division, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which focused its discourse on Kyoto Prefecture’s Initiatives on Food Tech.
In the aftermath of these interventions, open debate shed light to both European and Japanese industrial innovation priorities as well as policy making process in this area of high importance.