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FoodTech invites you to the food lab of the future

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13 June 2024

Visions for the food lab of the future will be at the centre of attention at the Future Food Lab - a new innovation area at FoodTech where visitors can explore both known and unknown solutions that will define the food lab of the future. FoodTech, the unifying destination for the food technology of the future, will take place from 1-3 October 2024 at MCH Messecenter Herning, Denmark.

The impact of AI and XR technologies on the functions of the food lab of the future and the possibility that functions from an entire food lab can be found in a sensor-packed microchip are among the aspects being explored in the Future Food Lab area at FoodTech. And there is plenty to dig into when it comes to exploring the challenges that the food lab of the future will be able to solve.

- We are moving in a direction where laboratory work is becoming both more specialised and more distributed. On the one hand, it's becoming more advanced and involves more and more bio-solutions - for example in terms of 'growing' food, including meat. On the other hand, equipment is being distributed so that consumers can make advanced things like cheese and beer at home on automated micro-systems - and laboratories need to be prepared to develop for this as well, says Mads Thimmer, CEO of Innovation Lab, and points out that we have already come a long way:

- We're always a little further ahead than we think - self-driving cars are already delivering food around the world and giving micro-producers direct access to consumers and markets, bypassing the retail sector. But it's also a little slower than we think, from the first examples to full deployment.

At FoodTech, visitors will be able to experience these early examples to prepare them for what's to come in the near future - and to learn about the longer-term prospects. There will be opportunities to explore and test technologies, prototypes and early products in the exhibition area, as well as guided tours and lectures that offer a glimpse into the future of food.


Challenging traditional thinking
The Future Food Lab at FoodTech focuses on technologies in distribution and automation, as well as virtual and artificial intelligence, and visitors will be able to experience and learn about a wide range of scenarios and solutions.

- We want to make the future of food very tangible and exemplified, with a particular focus on the part that is relevant to laboratory work. We're looking at the laboratory worker's home office and, for example, lab-on-a-chip technologies, where laboratories can be reduced to multi-functions in a chip or sensor, says Mads Thimmer, who thinks it's only natural that the Future Food Lab is part of FoodTech:

- It's completely logical that attention is directed towards the laboratories and that the laboratories look out into the world, which is increasingly becoming a food laboratory. Apart from the automotive industry, the food industry is where most of the action is at the moment and where many new players are entering and challenging traditional thinking in the field.


Exhibitors: Essential focus on the laboratory
Exhibitors believe it is not only obvious but also essential that FoodTech focuses on the food laboratory of the future with the Future Food Lab.


- Food testing continues to be a growing market segment for a number of reasons - consumer expectations are changing, there is growing interest in new food categories such as meat alternatives, and there is a new generation of environmentally conscious consumers who demand the highest food quality, explains Marketing Coordinator Therese Larsson from Anton Paar, which supplies high-tech measuring equipment to the food industry and will be offering potential customers the opportunity to have live measurements performed on the beverages they bring along to the trade fair.

Videometer, which works with spectral imaging and is also involved in high-tech food measurement, also considers the focus on the food laboratory of the future to be crucial.

- There is a strong focus on quality, safety and sustainability, especially in Europe, which is why the development of new laboratory solutions is becoming increasingly important. We are looking forward to showcasing our technology at the trade fair, developing new ideas and meeting existing and potential partners, says Alessia Del Genio, Marketing Specialist at Videometer.

FoodTech will take place on 1-3 October 2024 at MCH Messecenter Herning, Denmark. Read more at uk.foodtech.dk

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