Photo: Delegates at the 9th Africa Nutrition Conference 2024
Partners from the CATALYSE Project attended the Africa Nutrition Conference 2024 (ANC2024), the largest conference for nutrition. This year’s theme was “Food and nutrition in a changing world: Implications for nutrition security and health in Africa”.
Catalysing scientific innovation into food safety action is the core mission of CATALYSE, and one of our tasks is to build strong connections outside Europe, something partners are proactively and successfully doing. Attending ANC2024 was a great opportunity to connect with KOLs and entrepreneurs in the field of nutrition and food safety.
CATALYSE partner Syreon aims to build a continuously updated, expert-curated knowledge base on innovative solutions in the agri-food industry. A significant challenge in improving food safety is that these innovative solutions often fail to reach the stakeholders who need them. Through CATALYSE, Syreon intends to build bridges and ensure a steady, high-quality flow of information. In addition to developing a knowledge platform, Syreon is also focusing on transforming education and training activities in this sector. The company has just opened their hub in Accra, Ghana, and Syreon Research Africa actively networked at the 9th Africa Nutrition Conference 2024.
Prof. Francis Zotor, a Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Fred N. Binka School of Public Health (FNBSPH) in Ghana, is also a Trustee at the African Nutrition Society (ANS) and Vice-President of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS). For Prof. Zotor, food security is intrinsically linked to food safety: only safe food is good food, and only safe food can contribute to holistic nutrition. He left his academic career in Europe to return to Africa, aiming not only to address Africa’s nutritional needs but also to share the continent’s unique and rich expertise globally.
Susanne Lauber Fürst, Founder & CEO of the Swiss-based innovation accelerator InnoNext, focuses on bringing people, science, and business together to collaboratively address urgent needs through Public-Private Partnerships. For Susanne, the Africa Nutrition Conference is one of the best platforms for linking the Europe-centered CATALYSE program with African thought and action leaders. This connection strengthens ties between two continents while reinforcing the critical link between food safety and nutrition.
Roseline Delali Ashigbui, Founder & CEO of Delchris Africa Ltd., emphasizes that food safety is non-negotiable for her Ghana-based small-scale agro-processing company. Delchris Africa specializes in producing nutritious, healthy snacks using African indigenous ingredients. In 2018, Delali was invited to the FAO Youth Employment in Agriculture Conference and benefited from FAO’s food safety training tailored for entrepreneurs when starting her business. Delchris Africa follows a Farm-to-Fork approach, cultivating or directly sourcing most raw materials locally and processing them in their own production sites. As a result, stringent quality control along the entire agro-food supply chain is crucial. Delali’s products are registered by FDA Ghana, and she is eager to export her nutritious snacks to Europe. She is excited to learn about networks that can help her access the necessary food safety expertise.
This collaboration is a positive start for CATALYSE’s efforts on building a network outside Europe.
Source: thecatalyseproject.eu
