SAFE’s Annual Conference 2024

20 November 2024

Over 130 participants attended SAFE’s 9th Annual Conference, yesterday in Brussels: “Consumers Come First: Defining Sustainable Food Systems”.

The full-day event discussed food, health, sustainability, and inclusion, with speeches from Vice President of the European Parliament Antonella Sberna and MEP Michele Picaro and presentations from the European Commission, the food industry and other NGOs.


SAFE presented its report on consumer attitudes towards products that claim to be “natural” and why rules on labelling should be strengthened.

Regarding ultra-processed foods, Marialaura Bonaccio from IRCSS Neuromed presented a study linking ultra-processed foods to health problems. Sara Lamonaca, from @FoodDrinkEU explained the position of the European food and drink industry.

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We discussed acrylamide, its dangers, and the need for legally-binding maximum levels, with experts Dr Carmen Breitling-Utzmann from CVUA Stuttgart, Frans Verstraete, from DG SANTE, and Chiara Manzi from Cucina Evolution .

The panel discussion on food waste highlighted SAFE’s projects ZeroW and Sisters and the shocking amount of food waste in Europe.
The conference concluded with a panel on non-communicable diseases and social inclusion, featuring Hülya Okuyan, from HaDEA, Alessandro Gallina from EPHA and Simona Pulbere from DG EMPL.

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