International Conference on Fermented Foods, Bolzano, Italy, Oct 27-30
For those who missed the September Fermented Food Conference at Stanford University, there’s another conference being held in the Italian Alps at the end of October. It has a more of a purely scientific focus than was the case in California.
The International Conference on Fermented Foods is scheduled for October 27-30, 2025, at the NOI Techpark, Bolzano, Italy.
It is a unique worldwide opportunity with the best researchers of this specific field. The conference aims to provide a premier platform dedicated to exploring the multifaceted world of fermentation and to become undoubtedly the worldwide point of reference. This global gathering brings together leading experts, researchers, and industry professionals to delve into the latest advancements and innovations and future exploitation of the potential.
Fermented foods, cornerstones of human nutrition for millennia, have witnessed a great resurgence of interest due to their profound impact on human health, food security and safety, nutrition, industrial business, and sustainability. Because of this importance, fermented foods still face evolving challenges, such as how to advance tradition into future foods with different perspectives; how to steer the processes and guide the microbiomes; how to develop innovative biotechnologies to impact human health, the global food safety, and security and precision; and how to exploit the potential for dignifying food waste and reducing food loss and create the next generation of sustainable foods, also responding to the need of using non-conventional protein sources. Sharing knowledge and best practices globally is vital for accelerating this transformative transition.
A dedicated conference on fermented foods is essential to address these challenges and capitalise on the growing opportunities. By bringing together researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers, we can foster collaboration, advance scientific knowledge, and drive innovation in the production and consumption of fermented foods. We are committed to fostering a vibrant exchange of ideas and knowledge sharing among attendees from diverse backgrounds. Through keynote presentations, oral and poster sessions, and interactive workshops, we aim to create a stimulating environment for sharing knowledge, establishing synergistic collaboration, and supporting networking.
The speakers are predominately from European institutions, but include those from Australia, Singapore, South Korea, and Maria Marco from Davis, California who spoke at the Stanford event, but will have to travel slightly further for this one. She’ll give the opening presentation on the health benefits of fermented foods.
Agenda
The Agenda is a jam-packed three days where most presentations are allotted a brief 15 to 30 minutes, interspersed with five-minute “Flash Presentations”. The chair-people will be challenged to keep to this aggressive schedule. There are sessions on Plant Fermented Foods, Animal Fermented Foods, Food Microbiomes, and Fermented Foods and Health for a total of 52 presentations. Of these, 11 are science focused (microbiology, etc); nine are related to vegetables, flours and oils; eight to dairy; and six to bread.
There is just one talk about kombucha. A five-minute flash presentation late on Monday by Nicola Mangieri, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Science, University of Milan: Technological Characterization and Safety Evaluation of Acetic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Artisanal Kombucha.
A PDF of the Agenda is available for download. Here is a list.
Plant Fermented Foods
- Kimchi and its Industrial Production
- Enhancing Techno-Functional Properties of Pea Flour Through Combined Enzymatic and Lactic Acid Fermentation for a Novel Vegan Spread
- Exploring Yeast Communities in Alcoholic Beverages Using the Foodmicrobionet Database
- Fermentation of Coffee Beans and its Impact on the Flavour of Coffee
- Bacillaceae in Ropy Bread Spoilage: Taxonomic Diversity, Virulence Factors and Spoilage Dynamics
- Beyond Fatty Acids: New Insights into Bacterial Fatty Acid Derivatives Using Avocado Fermentation as a Model System
- Lactic Fermentation as a Biovalorisation Strategy for Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus): From Garum Production to Antimicrobial Extracts
- Bio-Valorisation of Swiss Yellow Peas Through Fermentation with Functional Microorganisms for Sustainable Food Applications
Five-Minute Flash Presentations
- Okra (Abelmoschus Esculentus L.) Flour Integration in Wheat-Based Sourdough: Effect on Nutritional and Technological Quality of Bread
- Innovative Food Fermentation: Case Studies Related to Cocoa Monoclonal Varieties and Tropical Mango (Philippines)
- Fermented Legume-Vegetables as a Seasoning Ingredient
- Sonmat: A Citizen-Science Enabled Kimjang Kimchi Case Study on Associations Between Hand and Kimchi Microbiota
- Technological Characterization and Safety Evaluation of Acetic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Artisanal Kombucha
Animal Fermented Foods
- The Challenge of Microbiome Biobanking and Storage: the Case of Fermented Sausages
- The Success of Cold-Smoked Salmon Bio-Preservation Depends on the Protective Culture and Microbiome Signature of the Processing Plant
- Microbiota Associated with Commercial Dry-Aged Beef in France
- Dairy Foods: From Old Traditions to New Challenges
- Production and Composition of a Caciotta with High Ratio of Ca/P For Possible Use in Patients with Chronic Renal Failure
- Impact of Coagulant Selection on Flavour, Texture and Functionality of Cheese
- Raw Cow Milk From Pasture in the PDO Massif Central Cheese Region – to What Extent Can Origin Be Kept During Fermentation?
- Phage and Bacterial Host Co-Evolution in Natural Whey Starter Culture Over an Entire Cheesemaking Season
Five-Minute Flash Presentations
- Innovative Use of Food Cultures for Meat and Other Ready-To-Eat Products
- Scratching On French PDO Cheese Surfaces Sheds Light on Unexplored Microbial Genomic and Metabolic Diversity
- Monitoring the Effect of Raw Milk Refrigeration on Kefir Fermentation: Implications for Quality and Safety
- Valorising Olive Oil Mill Wastewater as a Functional Ingredient in Traditional Italian Bread to Mitigate Oxidative Stress Associated With Red Meat Consumption
Food Microbiomes
- Fermented Food Microbiota: Complex Interrelationships Vs. Opportunistic Invaders
- Multi-Omics Interrogation of Fermented Food Microbiomes
- Ecological Role-Based Assembly of Synthetic Sourdough Ecosystems Ensure Robustness and Reproducibility in Sourdough Fermentation
- Exploration of the Microbial and Metabolite Diversity of Household and Artisan Bakery Sourdoughs Through a Citizen Science Approach
- Time-Course Metagenomics Analysis Defining Sustainable Food Flavouring Production
- Vineyard Effect on Microbial Communities and Fermentation Dynamics of Nebbiolo Grapes: A Microbial Perspective On Terroir
- Mapping the Biogeography of Sourdough Microbiomes Through Next-Generation Citizen Science
- The Evolving Safety Landscape of Food Fermenting Microorganisms: From Traditional Assessment to Genome Editing
- Fermented Foods and the Food System: Why A Holistic Perspective Matters
- Food Microbiomes: Their Importance For Food Quality and the Connection to the Gut Ecosystem
- Fermented Fruit Juices as a Source of Bioactive Organic Acids: Unveiling their Role in Adipogenesis and Metabolic Health
Five-Minute Flash Presentations
- Assembling Microbial Consortia for Legume-based Matrix Fermentation
- Microbial Species Diversity in Kaak Production: Insights into the Role of Chickpea-Soaked Water
- Has Lactobacillus Helveticus Changed Over 50 Years? A Genomic and Technological Characterisation of Recent and Old Strains
- Insights Into the Development of Novel Brewing Yeast Strains
Fermented Foods and Health
- Bifidobacteria As Beneficial Microbes During Early Life: Where, What and How?
- Advancing Gut Health in Bakery with Postbiotic-enriched Sourdoughs
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Story of Fermented Foods and (Global) Health
- Reduced Biocide Susceptibility in Companilactobacillus: A Genome-To-Phenotype Study with Implications For the Integrated Safety Assessment of Lactic Acid Bacteria
- A Functional Foods Ontology: Systematising Bioactive Ingredients of Foods For Specified Health Uses (Foshu) in Japan
- Targeted Fermentation of Chickpea Flour Enhances Nutritional Value and Gut Health-promoting Properties
- Genome Editing of Yeast and Lactic Acid Bacteria for Safer, Tastier and Healthier Fermented Foods
- Grain-Based Food Fermentations as a Tool to Produce Health-Promoting Foods
Five-Minute Flash Presentations
- Probiotics Combined with Prickly Pear Seed Flour as a Means to Fortify Fermented Milk-Based Beverages
- Does Maternal Consumption of Fermented Foods Affect Neonatal Health?
- Sourdough Starter Culture and Breadmaking Process Impact Wholemeal Bread Characteristics Associated with Starch Digestibility
- Enrichment of Fermented Olive Patè with Lacti-plantibacillus Plantarum as a Biological Strategy to Enhance Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Gut Modulation
Students can register for Euro 350. Regular admission is Euro 550.
