Food & Health
The relationship between food and health is complex and very important with respect to the wellbeing of the population. In both Sweden and Denmark highly competent research and product development take place at university and company level and contribute to innovation and economic growth in the Øresund region. Øresund Food highlights this area through our focus area Food & Health.
At present the most prominent activity within this area is our three-year project "Healthy Growth". The vision for the focus area Food & Health has been developed in close cooperation with competent and visionary people from the food value chain in the Øresund region.
Vision
Within Food & Health the vision is to make the Øresund Region centre for food and health, to secure innovation and make social responsibility a commercial opportunity, and hereby create prerequisites for healthy food choices through options and pleasure.
Specific working areas
Within our vision we focus on several specific subjects:
Food, Nutrition and Health: We focus on expanding the growth centre in the Øresund region with respect to cooperation between the food, medico and biotech/pharma sectors. The competencies within research and industry are to be optimally used with focus on development of tasty and health promoting foods. This is the overall aim of our project "Healthy Growth" where Ph.D. projects, educational courses and knowledge maturation projects are initiated.
Innovative foods: We focus on innovation, product development and economical growth in the Øresund region, and in order to do so Øresund Food participates in both national and international projects that target these issues. At present an EU FP 7 application on ‘nutrition and health research and innovation’ is awaiting approval. The same goes for an application to The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation on an ‘innovation network on ingredients’.
Knowledge & Technology Communities: Øresund Food works actively towards attracting funds from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology to create a Food KIC (Knowledge & Innovation Communities) with its’ base in the Øresund region. The Food KIC involves important stakeholders from Sweden and Denmark but also Holland (Food Valley) is involved. Recently a Food KIC secretariat has been established with both Swedish and Danish employees. A future Food KIC will work for easier knowledge sharing between industry and universities to strengthen innovation, education and entrepreneurship.
Working methods
The general working methods within Food & Health are cross sectional and cross bordering. The methods focus on networking, knowledge exchange and sharing, innovation and product development. The methods also include background analyses, active participation in the scientific and popular debate about food and health, as well as making the Øresund region and its’ competencies visible regionally and internationally.
