#Microbes4SustainableFoods cluster at the EFFoST conference in Valencia

Published: Nov 9, 2023 by FME Lab

Stéphane participated to the #EFFOST2023 conference in Valencia (6th to 8th of November) during which a specific session an EU project was planned.

This session was the first clustering activity of the #Microbes4SustainableFoods, a collaborative network of five European projects (#DominoEU, #HealthFerm, Pimento ca20128, #Wheatbiome and #Tribiome) with an overlapping interest in the use of microbes in the food system and in particular in plant-based fermented foods.

Stéphane gave an overview of DOMINO objectives whereas, Abelardo Margolles (WP4 leader) gave an introduction on our strategy to design microbial consortia based on synthetic ecology approaches. The session was concluded by a roundtable discussion with the audience.

Off the conference, all coordinators met for a friendly dinner which was also the kick-off for organizing and sharing communications, disseminations and results over the coming years between the different projects.

From “synthetic” to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology

Stéphane Chaillou participated in a joint reflection with a group of international researchers, coordinated by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), on the terminology used to describe certain microbial communities. The collective of experts proposes replacing the term “synthetic community” (or SynCom), sometimes perceived negatively, with “Defined Microbial Community”.

Harnessing gut microbiome diversity for next-generation fermented foods

On June 5, 2026, Julien Tap participated in the INRAE-Tokyo NODAI Joint Symposium on Fermentation and Food Bioscience. This online event brought together researchers from INRAE and the Tokyo University of Agriculture to discuss fermentation microbiology, food bioscience, taste, and microbiome-based approaches to health. More than 100 participants attended the symposium, most of them Japanese students, highlighting the strong interest of the next generation in fermentation and microbiome science.

DOMINO 3rd annual meeting in Madrid

After three years, the #DominoEU project has reached full speed, with significant results across all project objectives. The three-day meeting provided an opportunity to review the very busy year of 2025 and the many key findings that can be leveraged in the coming months.