AINIA is a technology centre established in 1987 as a non-profit organisation. It is one of the European Technology Centres with the largest corporate social system with more than 700 associated companies and 1,300 clients. It also belongs to the Spanish Federation of Technology Centres (FEDIT), the Network of Technology Institutes of the Valencian Community (REDIT), the European Food Institutes (EFI) as well as several entitites and associations, and it has entered into agreements and covenants with national and internacional organisations.

The Instrumentation and Automation Department designs and develops solutions based on new inspection and control technologies to automate and improve current production and testing methods. Some of these technologies encompass optical spectroscopy (UV/VIS, NIR, and MIR), optical imaging (VIS, NIR, hyperspectral, thermographic, and Terahertz), biosensors, and chemometrics and process modelling. The technologies have been applied to raw materials, in-process and finished products in the following sectors: food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and chemicals.

The Training Unit offers different services, such as tailored vocational training, specialised occupational training, diagnostic of training needs, and planning of in-house training, among many others. Part of the training activities are developed in-person modality. These services can be carried out by using classroom, on-line and/or blended methodologies. Moreover, the training services were accredited in 2000 through the Q*For methodology, based on customer satisfaction and transparency of information (Q*For 2000/2003 and 2003/2006). Since 2006, AINIA has the Certificate of Company Registration with No ER-1034/2006 issued by AENOR, which demonstrates the compliance of its quality management system with the UNE-EN ISO 9001:2008 for the design and execution of training activities in the agri-food and related areas.

Contact person: Mr José Belenguer
Tel.: +34 96 136 60 90
E-mail: jbelenguer@ainia.es
Web: www.ainia.es

The National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (NSAFD) exists to provide businesses across the UK’s food and drink manufacturing and processing industry with a single source of access to leading edge workforce training, vocational study and skill upgrades designed to boost productivity, innovation, profitability and growth. It is straightforward, industry-focussed, and offers businesses an honest unbiased view of the most effective and cost-efficient training solutions to meet their needs as well as advising on funding support where available.

NSAFD acts as the industry’s voice to Government on the strategic skills issues affecting its industry and works closely with a range of key industry stakeholders, supporters and partners in delivering its mission of making the food and drink industry in the UK the best in the world. As the Licensed Sector Skills Council for Food and Drink in the UK, it supports the industry across the four devolved nations to develop sector specific functional and occupational maps, National Occupational Standards, Apprenticeship standards and frameworks, Qualifications, and Programmes of learning. NSAFD has also been at the heart of helping the industry to set robust new standards for Apprenticeships under the England-based Trailblazer initiative, as well as developing and updating Modern Apprenticeship standards in Scotland.

NSAFD has also established, and continue to manage the Industry Skills Partnership, which sees food and drink businesses coming together to map out strategic skills needs across the entire industry and endorsing new thresholds of the quality of tuition, course content, and delivery provided by Industry Approved training providers.

Contact person: Ms Catherine Czarny
Tel.: +44 845 644 0558
E-mail: c.czarny@nsafd.co.uk
http://nsafd.co.uk

FEDACOVA is the Federation of Food Industries of the Region of Valencia (Spain). It brings together 35 food industries associations, such as the Spanish national associations of ice creams and tigernut juice, honey, and nuts, which in turn represent more than 2,000 companies. This results in than 70% of the food and agriculture businesses of the Region of Valencia are part of the Federation. There are also a number of companies which, due to their size or particular characteristics, are associated directly with the Federation. This broad spectrum means that all types of companies are represented, encompassing the whole value chain of the food industry and a broad range of subsectors.

FEDACOVA provides a wide range of services to food industries by means of its staff, which consists of 8 professionals with high expertise in the food sector. The Technical Department counts with experts in Food Safety and Security. It informs, assesses and advises the associates about legal requirements, new technologies, etc. The International Department counts with experts in Internationalisation. It informs, assesses and advises the associates about export/import requirements, potential countries, labelling requirements, etc.

The services offered by the Federation include training (e.g. VET); consultancy for the implementation of quality, environmental, health & safety and innovation management systems; promotion of internationalisation; attendance at international trade shows and congresses; organisation of sectoral events or productions of specific guides and manuals. It also accumulates big experience in the leadership and participation to R&D projects at regional and national level, too. Recently, FEDACOVA has also started being involved in European Projects with the purpose of supporting the development of the Valencian and Spanish food industries.

Contact person: Mrs Cécile Sauvage
Tel.: +34 96 351 51 00
E-mail: internacional@fedacova.org
http://www.fedacova.org

Federalimentare Servizi s.r.l. was established in Rome on 13^th September 1985. It is a limited liability company owned by Federalimentare which represents, protects and promotes the Italian Food and Beverages Industry. This is the second-highest-ranking Italian manufacturing sector, accounting for 8% of the national GDP, and with an annual turnover of over 132 billion Euro. The 15 Italian trade Associations for each food and drink sector are grouped together under Federalimentare, which represents almost 7,000 companies with more than 9 employees each, located throughout Italy.

Federalimentare Servizi is committed to working alongside the authorities in promoting a food model based on safety and quality requisites. It helps skilled entrepreneurs seize the best business opportunities in Italy and abroad, ensuring the core values of the Italian food culture are promoted worldwide whilst preventing imitations and counterfeiting. Moreover, it is aware of the needs of food companies and promotes collective economic and social growth. It supports research and innovation, in keeping with tradition, by responding to market developments and new consumer needs. In this sense, it is mainly targeted at services performance, assistance and consulting to companies, companies associations, business associations and other organisations operating in the food sector.

The main areas of expertise of the company are: food education; ongoing training; young entrepreneurs; consumer information; work, welfare and trade unions; nutritional policies; industrial and environmental policies; European projects and research innovation; promotion and internationalisation; relations with the European Union; institutional relations; and analysis and statistics office.

Contact person: Mr Maurizio Notarfonso
Tel.: +39 06 590 33 47
E-mail: notarfonso@federalimentare.it
http://www.federalimentare.it

The Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) is the 3^rd odest Greek University, an institution of prime national importance in agricultural and related sciences and one the most active national centres of funded academic and applied research. It contributes to the Greek and European agricultural and economic development through the implementation of basic and applied research projects managed by its Research Committee. AUA is advising the Greek state in agricultural issues and it is actively participating in projects on rural development. With its considerable research activity, it is in a position to cover a wide range of areas of research, such as food quality and safety, usage of water resources, organic farming, the use of alternative energy sources, applications of biotechnology in agriculture, etc.

AUA has more than 20 years’ experience in the development of automated methods and biosensors for food analysis. Tools are fluidic technologies along spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. It is involved in the development of methods and tools for food authentication applied to traditional and novel food products. Other detection principles such as amperometry and ice nucleation are explored.

AUA has defined, with partners from three continents, elemental metabolomics as the quantification and characterisation of total concentration of chemical elements in biological samples and monitoring of their changes. This is emerging as an important new technology with applications in medical diagnostics, nutrition, agriculture, food science, environmental science and multiplicity of other areas. Recent advances have enabled simultaneous measurement of concentrations of more than 70 elements in biological samples, and more than 40 in blood, other bodily fluids and tissues. Other applications that have been tested include food authentication concerning the determination of origin, geographic, genetic and processing.

Contact person: Prof. Constantinos Georgiou
Tel.: +30 210 529 4248
E-mail: cag@aua.gr
http://www2.aua.gr/el