Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Foundation
Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM)
Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM)
Highlights
Research projects
News
Outputs
Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM) is a leading Italian institution located in the alpine region and, since 1874, active in research, education and technology transfer in agriculture, food and environment with >700 employees.
In addition, FEM trains 900 high school students and 6.000 farmers and practitioners per year. FEM has an annual turnover of 48 M €, with over a quarter of this from external funding. CTT’s prevalent activity regards technical consulting andservices.
Participant in the spoke
People involved
Andrea Anesi
Andrea Mancini
Elena Franciosi
Franco Biasioli
The Organization Profile
Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM) is a leading Italian institution located in the alpine region and, since 1874, active in research, education and technology transfer in agriculture, food and environment with >700 employees.
In addition, FEM trains 900 high school students and 6.000 farmers and practitioners per year. FEM has an annual turnover of 48 M €, with over a quarter of this from external funding. FEM is comprised of 3 centers: the Research and Innovation Centre (CRI), the Training and Education Centre (CIF), and the Technology Transfer Centre (CTT). CIF is characterised by different educational levels, guaranteeing education (from high school to doctorate), vocational and lifelong training around the concepts of sustainability and environmental protection of landscape and agriculture and has a strong link with the local industry. CTT’s prevalent activity regards technical consulting and services, as a concrete and direct action to support local companies and has also several peripheral sites to ensure a capillary presence on the territory.
Research Projects
The quality of the research groups involved in the initiative is due to their ability to manage and implement projects in the fields of both fundamental and applied research.
Over the last 10 years FEM-CRI attracted funding from >255 projects (35% coordinated) funded at international, national (including EU funds allocated at national level or PSR calls) and local levels (success rate [funded/submitted] of about 29%). FEM is currently involved in 36 projects; among them, 20 EC funded projects (H2020, LIFE+, EGCT-Euregio, CEF, INTERREG, ERANET), 1 coordinated COST action, 2 KIC (EIT Climate, EIT FOOD), 4 national projects (Health Ministry, MIPAAF, PRIN MUR). FEM has obtained numerous international projects focused on food, for a total of approximately € 4,6 million in the last five years.
The Interdisciplinary Approach
FEM brings together a strong interdisciplinary team involving researchers from several complementary areas of food research.
FEM research in food and nutrition include activities covering the different aspects related to food production, authenticity and nutritional quality by applying a transversal multi-omics approaches dedicated to food quality, nutrition and human health for the qualitative, technological and nutritional improvement of agri-food products, aiming at: food security (traceability, DOP), food production (biotechnology, production processes), food composition (quality, safety, nutrition), food sensorial quality (taste panels, volatiles), food function (nutrition, health, metabolome, metagenome).
Research Collaborations
National and international collaborations are demonstrated by the involvement in National and European projects and thanks to the active collaborations of FEM with a large number of national and international public and private institutions.
FEM, during the last 5 years, has stipulated research agreements with 72 among national companies, cooperatives, and products’ consortia working in the area of food, 33 international companies working in the area of food and has direct exchange activities or research collaborations with all the most relevant international universities bearing a specific research interest in food science. FEM is also collaborating with EFSA, as an Art. 36 listed institutions. Finally, about ONFOODS topics, FEM is an associated member of the EIT FOOD and to the EU research infrastructures METROFOOD-RI.