Can recycled waste be used as a fertiliser? What should we call cultivated meat? Can we use GMOs in future food production?

Give and find answers to these questions and many more in The Department of Food Science’s tent at this year's Food Festival at Tangkrogen in Aarhus.

The event takes place during the first weekend of September, where the department's talented researchers are ready to discuss and show exciting research projects, study programmes and much, much more.

Dialogue and quizzes

This year, you can help science by participating in dialogue and answering questionnaires giving your opinion about the many new ways of producing food in the future.

You can learn about some of the many exciting EU-projects aimed at promoting healthier eating habits and food system transformation. You can also hear about the many exciting food-related educational programs that Aarhus University and AU FOOD offer.

The researchers will be ready with tastings, give-aways, quizzes, and new knowledge when the festival opens its doors to the public on Friday, September 6th at 13.00.

Important weekend

AU FOOD’s scientists are looking forward to yet again spending a fun weekend interacting with the guests at Food Festival about the latest food research. 

“You can meet some of the researchers at the Department of Food Science and hear about a selection of their research projects. We will have different interactive activities for instance tastings and consumer studies that the public can participate in,” says Mette Hadberg Løbner, who is organising the Department of Food Science’s participation in Food Festival 2024.

She summarises:

“A trip through our tent at Food Festival will be both educational and a fun experience for adults as well as for children.”

The Department of Food Science has been part of the Food Festival since the festival’s early beginning in 2012. As the festival’s guests are interested in all things related to food, it is the perfect forum to interact with the public about food research and get their opinions on novel foods. 

Prime placement

As usual, The Department of Food Science’s tent will be located at “Torvet” in the middle of the festival square, where you can find us all weekend.

See the programme for the rest of the Food Festival and buy tickets for the full event here. All activities in and around AU FOOD’s tent are free of charge. 

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Activities

This year you can hear about the following in AU FOOD’s tent:

• GMOs in Food Technology: The use of genetically modified organisms remains one of the most debated topics in food technology, yet the potential benefits are vast. In AU FOOD’s tent you can hear about genetically modified microorganisms, GMMs, and their pivotal role in fermentation processes and the production of essential additives, vitamins, and flavours. Learn about the innovative project RHAPLLE, which aims to utilise genetically modified yeasts to extract valuable compounds from food processing waste.
   
• InformPack:  Explore knowledge, information gaps, problems, and attitudes towards food packaging across cultures. At the stand, you can get tips and tricks on sorting waste and try your luck in tests and quizzes that will make you ponder the question: How well do you know your waste? The findings of this European project are used to design actions, tools and strategies that can influence public behaviour and future solutions.
   
• Diversity of fruits and legumes grown in Denmark: We aim to transition towards diets that cultivate, trade, and consume as many of these delicious and nutritious foods as possible. Fruit and legume consumption plays a fundamental role in promoting diversified, balanced, and healthy diets and lifestyles. Diversity in fruits and legumes makes them valuable to nutrition and livelihoods across environments, production systems and markets. This year at the Food Festival, you can learn more about our orchard collection and the diversity of pea cultivars we grow at AU Auning.
   
• FoodCLIC: Europe’s urban areas face significant food challenges. How to ensure the availability and consumption of healthy, affordable, safe, and sustainable food? Such challenges converge within local food environments but are often neglected by public planners. Hear about the EU-project FoodCLIC and the work to transform the food systems in municipalities all over Europe – including Aarhus - involving key stakeholders from the beginning.
   
• KitchenAdventure: We aim to improve healthy and sustainable eating habits through engaging and informative online cooking experiences for children. Developed by a team of experts within the fields of nutrition and sustainability, this initiative combines fun culinary activities with valuable lessons about food choices and environmental impact. The mission is to transform cooking from a boring chore to something creative and exciting that can promote healthier eating habits, sustainability, and strengthen family bonds.
   
• CO2-derived protein: Hear about a new method of producing protein that utilises excess CO₂. The goal is to create protein rich foods for the still growing population while simultaneously removing CO₂, which would under normal circumstances be released into the atmosphere during food production. Consumer acceptance is crucial for the success of foods produced with proteins made with this new method, but because of its novelty, the attitude and opinion of consumers is unknown. This will be explored through dialogue at this year’s Food Festival.
   
• Cellular food: Cell-based production of meat and milk offers a new way of producing animal proteins, where fewer animals are used in the production. It is a multi-faceted concept, that can result in different types of products: ranging from products that imitate meat or milk, to ingredients that can be used as additives. Briefly put, cells are grown in cell cultures in a controlled environment instead of in the animal. Consumer acceptance is crucial for the success of these new alternative proteins, but because of their novelty, the attitude and opinion of consumers is unknown. This will be explored through a consumer study at this year’s Food Festival.
   
• Exciting educational opportunities: Do you love to dig into how food is produced, why it tastes the way it does, and how food can contribute to the green transition? Then Aarhus University may be an ideal place for your future studies. Meet students and hear about everyday life at a master’s degree in "Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology" and an international master’s degree in “Food Systems”. You can also hear about the brand-new bachelor in "Plant and Food Science".
   
• What is Cultivated Meat? The idea of cultivated meat was born from concerns about the increase in human population, climate and agricultural effect of livestock production, and taking control of animal-borne diseases. Cultivated meat production will provide some advantages over conventional meat production; so that less water and less land will be used with lower greenhouse gas emissions. In the lab at AU FOOD, we are focusing on different aspects like nutrition, taste, flavor, budget friendly scale-up production and quality controls of the final product with sustainable sources. Give your opinions and thoughts about this new production method in AU FOOD’s tent.
   
• Recycling waste into climate friendly fertilizers for vegetable cultivation: Recycling waste into soil amendments such as compost, biofertilizer, biostimulants, or biochar is a sustainable approach for nutrient recovery in agriculture. Application of waste-based amendments can improve soil fertility, increase crop production, and reduce contaminants by altering the soil's chemical, physical, microbial, and faunal properties. This year at the Food Festival, we will demonstrate the differences in leaf vegetables grown with different types of fertilizers (conventional, animal-based and plant-based). Come and compare the taste of the vegetable samples.
   
• OptiClean: Soil is removed when carrots are washed. The roots become so clean that the consumer only needs to rinse them in water before use. However, the washing process reduces shelf life. At this year's Food Festival, researchers from the project "Optimised cleaning and utilisation of root vegetables for fresh consumption” will show different qualities of carrots from the washery. Drop by and hear about how the washing process affects shelf life and what the researchers are doing to improve it.