EuroFIR AISBL - Annual Report 2021

In the second year of Covid-19 we continued working from home, only visiting the office periodically, with reduced numbers of social contacts and to see colleagues on screen during online meetings. Although this sounds like a retreat, the EuroFIR community has not decreased either the range or numbers of activities, and we are able to look back on a successful 2021.

EuroFIR Food Forum 2021 was held online with a record-breaking 120 participants, demonstrating not only that Members and Clients are invested in the topics, but also that online events can lower barriers for participation, although networking online remains challenging. One of the highlights at EuroFIR Food Forum 2021 was the farewell lecture from Ruth Charrondiere, who retired as FAO INFOODS coordinator, and offered advice about how EuroFIR might continue supporting food composition activities globally. Collaboration with FAO continued with a joint workshop on protein calculation shortly before the summer break with speakers from Europe, Africa, and South America (you can watch it here).

EuroFIR also came back to ‘big topics’ during 2021 with a view to populating research infrastructures and open science clouds. One such example is branded food composition; an online questionnaire is being used to collect needs from members and others who would like to use such data (check it here). Ideas for new (or better) updated databases are also being considered to ensure additional value for members, often accelerated by EU- and otherwise-funded projects. The Discussion Groups were also reorganised in 2021, merging into a single group (apart from FoodCASE) because many topics overlap or run in parallel. The opportunities for networking and exchange of ideas offered by the Discussion Group are essential and highly valued by Members, but leading such activities is challenging because everyone is so busy. We are hoping that EuroFIR Food Forum 2022 will reinvigorate discussions, and everybody will be more engaged.

Homeworking did not – apparently – impact the Association's profile or the desirability of our tools and services. EuroFIR was invited to join 14 project proposals, which is more than one person can manage, and Paul and Siân have sometimes been working in parallel on competing proposals with help from different members of the wider team. In fact, the approaches taken by these consortia mean there is very rarely, if any, conflicts of interest. Whilst EuroFIR was not successful in the early part of 2021, the Association was successful with EFSA tenders and EU-funded research submitted in the Autumn, which means Members can continue to benefit from project outputs in the years to come.

We would like to thank the EuroFIR team for their tremendous work as well as Members and Clients for their support and Directors and Discussion Group chairs and leaders for their work. Without such an active community, EuroFIR could not exist. And now we hope to see you face-to-face in 2022!