First results at project halftime
In the presence of representatives of the INTERREG programme and the co-financing institutions, the current project results were presented in Venlo (Netherlands) on 18 October 2018 on the occasion of the half year of Food Pro·tec·ts.
Saskia Goetgeluk, Director of the Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo, hosted a short greeting to the German and Dutch guests at the Villa Flora. She explained the structure of the Brightlands Campus in Venlo and underlined the importance of cross-border projects for the further positive development of the entire region.
The cluster managers then gave an insight into the interim status and the planning of the upcoming project activities within the five different technology clusters (TICs). For example, it was demonstrated within the project that spectroscopic methods can be used to immediately determine germ counts on fresh meat (TIC 1), zoonoses can also be detected in pig fattening using oral fluid technology (TIC 2), new technologies have made it possible to achieve a better indoor climate in pigsties (TIC 3), internet-based feed monitoring in the poultry sector has been developed (TIC 4) and studies in the field of biomass material flows have been successfully carried out (TIC 5).
Also present was a representative of the new project partner Blue Engineering B.V., who has been strengthening the working group in Cluster 1 since August 2018. The presentations were followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion. The attendees were extremely satisfied with the overall development status of the project.
In the run-up to the event, some of the guests already met in downtown Venlo for an informative guided tour and a joint lunch in the Beej Benders Fresh Market on Nolensplein. The innovative market concept of the Benders family, in which regionality and sustainability are central, was presented by the owner’s daughter, Niki Benders. Some impressions of the visit to Fresh Market Benders and the steering group meeting at Villa Flora can be found in the following video.
Food Pro·tec·ts implemented under the INTERREG V A programme Deutschland-Nederland and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, MWIDE NRW and the provinces of Gelderland, Limburg and Noord-Brabant. It is accompanied by the programme management of the Euregio Rhein-Waal.