On June 26–27, 56 participants from across Europe came together at the Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, UCP in Porto, for the MICROORC project General Assembly. Hosted by Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), the two-day event brought together leading experts committed to reducing food waste caused by spoilage and expired date marks, and to cutting plastic waste in packaging for perishable foods.

As the project progressed through three technical work packages - predictive models, biosolutions, and packaging - and three cross-cutting ones - sustainability, policy, and impact - PNO Innovation Italy played a vital role in ensuring the visibility, relevance, and exploitation of project results.

Representing the PNO team, Simona Mincione provided updates on the work carried out so far in dissemination, communication, and exploitation. She also highlighted the upcoming milestones that will drive the project's outreach and long-term impact.

Through insightful WP presentations, lively panel debates, and hands-on workshops, participants reflected on progress and co-developed strategies for sustainable, microbially driven food systems - amplified by PNO’s expertise in stakeholder engagement and innovation management.

The General Assembly was not only a space for knowledge exchange, it was a key moment for aligning action and accelerating impact.