LABIP Expert Workshop Microbial Diversity & Health

Published: Jun 9, 2023 by FME Lab

In Leiden, Netherlands, 7 – 8 June 2023, the recent LABIP¹ Expert Workshop on “Microbial Diversity & Health” brought together experts to explore this relationship. The workshop began with an objective to examine the impact of microbial diversity in food on health. Presentations covered topics such as the role of beneficial microbes, consequences of food processing on microbial diversity, and harnessing gut microbiome diversity.

Julien discussed how dietary habits, among other factors, can influence the symbiosis between the host and the intestinal microbiota. He shared an updated view of the human gut microbiome structural and functional landscape which can provides a conceptual framework for designing next-gen and sustainable fermented foods.

Insights into European consumers’ perception of probiotics were shared, highlighting the need for awareness. Other presentations covered the role of food microbes in shaping the human microbiome, the significance of bacteriophages, and emerging process solutions for selective inactivation of food microbes.

LABIP: Lactic Acid Bacteria Industrial Platform ↩

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.