Food research has a future
Minister Wanka sees a positive development of the DIL
From left: Dr. Volker Heinz, Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka (Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture), MdL Reinhold Coenen
The food industry with its about 700 enterprises which generate an annual turnover of approximately EUR 25 billion is of great significance to Lower Saxony’s economy. Many well-known companies with international presence are located in this region and, to a large extent, they source regional raw materials. The foods produced here are characterized by diversity and an attractive taste. They are appreciated by consumers even beyond the borders of Lower Saxony. To the consumers, the high quality produced by the food industry is implicit, while maintaining the safety of the processing processes requires a great deal of effort from the producers. In this field as well as in the development of new products, a constant renewal is needed in order to maintain one's competitiveness.
SMEs in particular are having difficulties to do their own research and development activities which are needed for a sustainable growth of the food industry in Lower Saxony. This means, superordinate R&D efforts are requested in this context.
The function of the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL) within the different development scenarios and its role in the Lower Saxony’s agricultural sector was discussed among Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture, and Dr. Volker Heinz, head of the DIL, in meeting initiated by Reinhold Coenen, Member of the Parliament in Lower Saxony.
The minister looked favorably upon the development of the DIL in the past years: “Since the year 2006, the research budget has tripled which shows that the funds provided by the second economic stimulus package have been well invested. The DIL is on its way to the top as European high tech research institute for food production,” said Wanka.
The coordination of large European interdisciplinary projects through the DIL office in Brussels shows that the institute is in an excellent situation to position itself in the bioeconomy sector.
Dr. Heinz then explained how SMEs can benefit from the opportunities offered by the DIL in the field of knowledge and technology transfer. “Scientifically seen, process engineering and material sciences interlock in food production. The in-depth understanding of production processes is of high significance and is researched at the DIL down to the nano scale. However, the practitioner is only interested in results that he can use for adapting his production accordingly.” The DIL does the transformation work which makes it an indispensable partner for many companies. The consumers also benefit from the ever increasing food quality.
Dr. Heinz stressed that research activities require a high methodological effort and that more significant investments into infrastructure and equipment are needed despite the funding provided by the second economic stimulus package. The Fraunhofer institutes are serving as models here. Minister Wanka and Dr. Heinz discussed that an integration of the DIL into the Fraunhofer Society might be an interesting option for the future.
