Gastro2025: Industry giants to advise Danish government on boosting food industry potential

20-Jun-2017 - Last updated on 28-Jun-2017 at 09:42 GMT

Arla, Organic Denmark, Meyers Food and other industry players will become advisers to the Danish government in a bid to cement the country's reputation as a food and gastronomy powerhouse, cut food waste and improve eating habits.

Dubbed Gastro2025, the advisory board is to come up with recommendations for four different areas: creating better eating habits among Danes, avoiding food waste, increasing food exports and develop Denmark as an attractive gastronomic tourist destination.

“The food served in restaurants and the food sold in supermarkets and exported are all parts of the equation,” Denmark’s Minister of Environment and Food, Dr. Esben Lunde Larsen, told FoodNavigator.

The project will focus both on the role of Denmark’s gastronomic food service and its processed food industry – although, with a total of 28 Michelin stars, Denmark is “the gastronomic powerhouse of the Nordic region,” he said.

“Food companies obviously play a tremendous role in elevating the food quality available for consumers. This is the reason why for instance, senior premium manager at Arla, John Gynther, is a member of the advisory board.

Chaired by Peter Kreiner, the CEO of Noma, the advisory board will meet for a series of workshops over the next six years and come up with proposals on how to leverage better eating habits, less food wastage, higher exports and boosted tourism.

In addition to top chefs from Denmark’s gastronomy scene, the board includes chairman of Organic Denmark Per Kølster; senior business manager at Arla John Gynther; group senior vice president at Dansk Supermarket Jeppe Dahl Jeppesen; director of Meyers Food Dorthe Petersen; and branch director of the Confederation of Danish Industry Leif Nielsen.

“The hope is that the advisory board will come up with new ideas and creative solutions to how we can create better food for more people in all parts of the equation," said Lunde Larsen, with the first recommendations expected in early 2018.

Added value

According to the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, the current value of Danish agriculture and food exports was estimated to be around 156 billion DKK (€21bn) in 2016.

Lunde Larsen said it was too early to measure any direct value increase the project could create for the Danish food industry although the he hoped the advisory board’s recommendations would generate increased value.

“Denmark has for many years been known for gastronomic innovation and a good and sustainable food industry. The Danish government is committed to maintaining and further developing this brand.”

In August, Lunde Larsen will be in Copenhagen hosting the World Food Summit with the theme Better Food for More People.

The summit seeks to raise awareness about how gastronomy can be a driver to solve some of the big global food related challenges we face.