HealthFerm Experts at the 1st International Conference on Fermented Foods 2025, Bolzano
The 1st International Conference on Fermented Foods (ICFF 2025), hosted at NOI Techpark in Bolzano from 27–30 October 2025 and organised by the International Centre on Food Fermentations (ICOFF) of the HealthFerm partner Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, gathered leading international scientists, entrepreneurs, and innovators to explore how fermentation can shape a more sustainable and health-promoting global food system. The event covered the entire fermentation landscape—from traditional and plant-based fermentations to industrial biotechnology, microbial ecology, health, and circular-economy applications.
The HealthFerm project was prominently represented by three of its experts, reflecting the project’s breadth and scientific leadership in the field of food fermentations.
Prof. Christophe Courtin (KU Leuven, Belgium) delivered an invited lecture titled “Grain-Based Food Fermentations as a Tool to Produce Health-Promoting Foods.” His presentation showcased HealthFerm’s advances in cereal and pulse fermentations and demonstrated how fermentation processes can enhance the nutritional and functional properties of grain-based foods.
Prof. Luc De Vuyst (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium) contributed another invited talk, “Fermented Food Microbiota: Complex Interrelationships vs. Opportunistic Invaders.” His lecture explored the intricate microbial ecosystems that underpin fermented foods. This systems-level perspective on microbiota dynamics directly supports HealthFerm’s objective to advance understanding of plant-based fermented foods microbiomes and how they interact with the human gut microbiome to promote health.
Prof. Thomas Gettemans (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium) presented “Exploration of the Microbial and Metabolite Diversity of Household and Artisan Bakery Sourdoughs through a Citizen Science Approach.” His research illustrated how engaging citizens as active contributors in sampling and data collection can reveal the microbial richness of naturally fermented sourdoughs. This feeds directly into HealthFerm’s work on understanding real-world fermentation variability and consumer relevance.
Through these contributions, HealthFerm strengthened its visibility and scientific impact within the international fermentation research community. The project’s interdisciplinary perspective—bridging cereal chemistry, microbiology, nutrition, and consumer science—resonated strongly with the conference’s mission to connect research and application. ICFF 2025 offered an exceptional platform for collaboration between academia and industry, and for HealthFerm, it reinforced ongoing partnerships that will continue to advance innovation in fermented plant-based foods for human health.