Amaia Barredo: “The food industry faces challenges such as competitiveness, production costs, training, and absenteeism”

• Aralab Seminar in Vitoria-Gasteiz: “New paradigms for the food sector”
• Speeches by Daniel Egas, Anna Torrent, and Javier Gamboa
• “Fishermen, farmers, and consumers play a fundamental role in establishing a more efficient, resilient, and sustainable food system.”
• “The industry has inherent capabilities to leverage local products that often go untapped.”

Vitoria-Gasteiz, basque Country  2025 03 27

Mrs Amaia Barredo, Regional Minister of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture, and Fisheries of the Basque Government, believes that “the food value chain, in terms of its production, management, and consumption, increasingly constitutes one of the foundations of the well-being and development of societies.” The regional minister opened the conference that Aralab Mérieux NutriSciencies dedicated today at the Silken Hotel in Vitoria-Gasteiz to "New Paradigms for the Food Sector." The event was chaired by Roger Benito and Fernando Pérez.

"The food industry," Amaia Barredo noted, "faces significant challenges: competitiveness is a horizontal challenge, but there are others such as production costs, training, and absenteeism. In addition, the industry has inherent capabilities to attract local products that are often not leveraged."

"With a chain-based approach to food, we are promoting organic food through the design and implementation of a new FOPE (Plan for the Promotion of Organic Production and Food) and are committed to quality and local products, strengthening existing families of products and foods with differentiated quality, such as the Eusko Label and other certified brands such as designations of origin."

“Other challenges include reducing food waste and, linked to this, developing by-products within the framework of the Basque Government's circular economy strategy, as well as greater promotion of training and entrepreneurship, with scholarships and support services for new establishments and with facilities and centers such as the future BIC (Food Innovation Centre) of the Basque Country, to be located in Ortuella (Biscay), or the future GOE (Food Innovation Centre) in St Sebastien-Donostia. The portfolio of innovation grants aimed at companies in the food chain, whose calls for proposals in 2025 will reach €7.5 million, is a major objective.”