Young Winners @EU FOOD SAFETY FORUM 2024!

Announcing the Winners of the Youth Pitch Competition at the EU FOOD SAFETY FORUM 2024

The EU FOOD SAFETY PLATFORM is excited to reveal the winners of the Youth Session Pitch Competition, held during the EU FOOD SAFETY FORUM 2024 in Rome.
This initiative celebrates innovative research and visionary ideas from emerging food safety professionals. In front of a high-level experts plateau, the 6 selected young researchers had brilliant pitches introducing their studies and potential impact to improve food safety.
All the pitches were voted for and 3 of them won the session, thus candidating to driving the future of food safety innovation.
The 3 most-voted pitches’ will be highlighted as remarkable contributions and ideas in the “Young Minds of Food Safety” podcast series.
The podcast series: “Young Minds of Food Safety” is powered by our platform member LVA Gmbh and is disseminated via Social Media and YouTube Channels to showcase the inspiring work of future leaders.

Meet the winners!

🎉 Joana Oliveira – • ISCSEM, Portugal • Integration of food waste into insect bioconversion
“Last week, I had the honour of pitching my PhD project at the #EUFoodSafetyForum in Rome during the “Youths in Action for the Future of Food Safety in the EU” session 🌍🍽️. I’m thrilled to have been selected as one of the winners of the ‘From Pitch to Podcast’ award—an exciting opportunity to further share and amplify my work! Thank you to my supervisors, Professors Ricardo Assunção, Alexandre Trindade, and Daniel Murta, for your unwavering support and guidance. This achievement is ours to celebrate together!”

🎉Melisa Jaramillo Zapata • UNITO, Italy • Bacteria cocktail to enhance microbiological safety
“What a fantastic experience during the Youth Session! I’m truly happy and satisfied to have contributed as a young researcher to strengthen this valuable community of the EU Food Safety Platform by FS4EU, envisioning a safe, sufficient, and secure food system. A heartfelt thanks to the leaders and organisers of the event for creating such a great opportunity!“

🎉 Tiina Mandel • EMÜ, LABRIS, Estonia • Safety of plant-based alternatives
“Proud to be selected as one of the winners of the Youth Session at the #EUFoodSafetyForum! My presentation focused on the food safety of plant-based meat alternatives and high-risk plant-based foods, a collaborative project between the Estonian University of Life Sciences, LABRIS, and ISTITUTO ZOOPROFILATTICO SPERIMENTALE LAZIO E TOSCANA M. ALEANDRI, funded under the #TeMTA framework by the Estonian Research Council (ETAG).”

Awards for the winners:

🔹 A 5-minute pitch presentation on stage at the Forum.
🔹 Participation in the “ASK the EXPERTS” session -> Look for their questions engaging with international experts and stakeholders.
🔹 Poster showcases at the Forum venue and publication on the EU FOOD SAFETY PLATFORM.
🔹 3 podcast episodes for “Young Minds of Food Safety,” by LVA GmbH.

We’re all happy to celebrate and promote the next generation of food safety experts!