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Microbial Biotechnology for the European Union

    July 8, 2021
    1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    (Virtual)
    Paris, France

Food ingredients are an essential part of the global food supply and international trade. Microbial fermentation is used to make purified flavors, vitamins, amino acids, and other compounds for the food industry. Food producers around the world use microbe-derived products because they provide yield, purity, cost competitiveness advantages, and potential resource conservation.

Microbial biotechnology, including techniques other than genetic engineering, is one technology used to produce products of microbial fermentation. In the food industry, it is used to produce a range of foods, beverages, and their ingredients. Supported by a grant from the New Technologies and Production Methods Division at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Trade Policy and Geographic Affairs (TPGA) area, the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI) organized this webinar to convene scientists and policymakers from academia, industry, and governments from across the European Union to discuss regulatory policies and science communication around low-risk, well-characterized food ingredients that have been derived from genetically modified microbes, algae, and fermented products. By bringing experts together to discuss science-based, transparent functional biotechnology regulations of products derived from microbial biotechnology, this event provided an opportunity to support harmonized regulatory policies and technical requirements related to these products. Through fostering a shared understanding of the nature of these products and the proportionate risks associated with them in the context of food, this event aimed to help inform regulatory policy discussions, communicate policy implications, exchange information, and enhance science-based regulatory assessments that ultimately facilitate trade.

This regional European Union webinar featured four 20-minute presentations, followed by a facilitated panel discussion with audience participation, and was a follow-on to AFSI’s Microbial Biotechnology for Novel Foods Webinar Series.

Speaker Bios

Science and Technology of Microbial Biotechnology

Markus Wyss, Strain Director, Global Regulatory Affairs, DSM Nutritional Products Ltd.

Markus Wyss builds on 25 years of professional experience in the chemical and biotechnology industries, first at F. Hoffmann-La Roche, and since 2003 at DSM. He has held various managerial positions in R&D, technical product management, human resources, project and program management. Since 2013, he is DSM’s Strain Director in the Global Regulatory Affairs and Quality Management department, overseeing the safety assessment of DSM’s microbial production microorganisms.

Products of Microbial Biotechnology and the Green Deal

Elke Duwenig, Senior Expert Global Regulatory/Public & Government Affairs Biotechnology, Nutrition & Health, BASF

Elke Duwenig is passionate for innovation and sustainability and for supporting biotech products. She is Female Food Hero, Rulebreaker, and KeyNote Women Speaker. Elke is a Senior Expert in biotechnology and active in Regulatory and Government Affairs for Human Nutrition, Animal Nutrition, Enzymes, Flavour, and Pharma products at Nutrition&Health, BASF SE. In addition to supporting various R&D projects and sales products, she is engaged in legislations, guidances, and authority work with EU SFI (Specialty Food Ingredients), EuropaBio, FEFANA, AMFEP, and other trade associations. Previously, Elke has been responsible for the political work at BASF Plant Science and before then, she worked for 10 years as Head of Research – Plant Biotechnology, on new biotech products. Elke studied biology and chemistry at the University of Münster, Germany and Stanford University, USA. She graduated and completed her doctorate in molecular plant physiology at the Institute for Gene-Biological Research IGF, Berlin and completed two postdocs at the Max-Planck Institute in Golm and the University of Freiburg, Germany, before joining BASF.

Customers and Consumers - Products of Microbial Biotechnology and Food Trends

Seren Kell, Science and Technology Manager, The Good Food Institute Europe

Seren’s Kell background is originally in biochemistry, with a focus on cellular senescence and the fundamental processes underlying human ageing. Over the last few years she has been involved in both the cultivated meat space (focusing on cell culture media, and then co-founding Cellular Agriculture UK), and external innovation more generally – previously working at IN-PART, a startup that connects R&D-focused companies with academia to encourage greater collaboration. Now at the Good Food Institute Europe, Seren works to build a strong, well-funded scientific community in the sustainable proteins space across Europe.

Trade of Products of Microbial Biotechnology

Dennis Ostwald, CEO and Founder, WifOR Institute

Dennis A. Ostwald focuses, among other topics, on health economics and healthcare, international social policy and digitalization. In 2009, Dennis Ostwald founded WifOR Institute, an economic research institute which conducts quantitative analysis in the fields of health economics, healthcare industry, labor markets and impact analyses. His research activities and interests also include regional growth and cluster theories, demographic development, sustainability management, social security, globalization and economic feasibility studies.

He studied Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technical University of Darmstadt and received his doctorate from the Chair of Finance and Economic Policy of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Bert Rürup.  He is Professor of Economic Research and Management at School of International Business and Entrepreneurship (SIBE) Steinbeis University of Applied Sciences.

Agenda

1:00 pm

Welcome and Introduction

Rachel Melnick, Senior Manager – Scientific Programs, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute
Andrew Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute

An introduction to the event.

1:10 pm

Science and Technology of Microbial Biotechnology

Markus Wyss, Strain Director, Global Regulatory Affairs, DSM Nutritional Products Ltd.

This session will provide a fundamental understanding of the science behind food and food ingredients derived from microbial biotechnology, including a brief history of their safe use, putative risk associated with products produced by microbial biotechnology, and a brief discussion of the risk assessment of products of microbial biotechnology.

1:30 pm

Products of Microbial Biotechnology and the Green Deal

Elke Duwenig, Senior Expert Global Regulatory/Public & Government Affairs Biotechnology, Nutrition & Health, BASF

The European Green Deal sets an ambitious agenda for the transformation of the bioeconomy. This session will provide an overview of the European Green Deal and the opportunities and challenges that this presents for microbial biotechnology, including background on how microbial biotechnology can meet the goals set in the Green Deal and the transformation of the policy framework that will be needed to facilitate the innovation pipeline.

1:50 pm

Customers and Consumers - Products of Microbial Biotechnology and Food Trends

Seren Kell, Science and Technology Manager, The Good Food Institute Europe

This session will provide an overview of the nature of utilizing products derived for microbial biotechnology for food, including what consumers and customers want in a product, how the industry is meeting consumer desires, and innovations in products of microbial biotechnology.

2:10 pm

Trade of Products of Microbial Biotechnology

Dennis Ostwald, CEO and Founder, WifOR Institute

This session will provide an overview of the economics and trade of products of microbial biotechnology, including the value of products of microbial biotechnology used in food and supplements and barriers to trade.

2:30 pm

Moderated Panel Discussion

Andrew Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (Moderator)

A moderated panel discussion with all speakers.

 

4:00 pm

Adjourn

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