UFF Upcycled Food Symposium Part II - Day 2

Join us for Day Two of an engaging virtual symposium with global participants hosted by Dr. Simona Grasso & Dr. Alexandra Grygorczyk: an inspiring and informative two days of learning, a global scientific convening on upcycled food innovation! Register for Day One here.

Co-host: Dr. Simona Grasso, Ad Astra Fellow & Assistant Professor, School of Agriculture and Food Science - University College Dublin

Dr Simona Grasso is an Assistant Professor and Ad Astra Fellow in Food Science & Nutrition at University College Dublin. A food scientist by background, she has a first class honours BSc and MSc in Food Science from the University of Catania in Italy and a PhD from University College Dublin in Ireland. Her research interests span the development and characterisation of new foods that are both nutritious and sustainable, covering every step of the product development journey, from recipe development and prototype manufacturing to food characterization, sensory analyses and consumer studies. She has been researching upcycled foods since 2019.

Co-host: Dr. Alexandra Grygorczyk, Research Scientist, Sensory and Consumer Services, Vineland Research

Alexandra is a Research Scientist at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. For over ten years at Vineland, she has been managing diverse contract service and grant-funded research projects to support the food and horticulture industries. Her work has included developing value-added products from fruit and vegetable by-product streams, providing sustainability-related market intelligence for the food and agriculture sectors, and consumer and sensory testing of fresh products, food ingredients and ornamental plants. She is a recipient of the 2025 top 40 under 40 award from Greenhouse Product News for her work in waste diversion in the greenhouse vegetable sector. Alexandra holds a PhD in Food Science from the University of Guelph.

Joy Nnadiegbulam, PhD Student,University College Dublin, Ireland

Lightning Talk: Co-creating new upcycled foods with Irish consumers

Joy Nnadiegbulam is a second-year PhD student at University College Dublin, School of Agriculture and Food Science, where she is researching the co-creation of new upcycled foods with Irish consumers under the supervision of Dr Simona Grasso. Her work explores how involving consumers throughout the product development process, from ideation to final concepts, can foster innovation while reducing food waste. She is particularly interested in how consumer engagement influences consumer acceptance of upcycled foods. Outside of her research, Joy enjoys cooking native delicacies and watching movies.

Maria Dermiki, Lecturer, Atlantic Technological University

Keynote: It looks like a regular soup, but does it taste like one? Exploring ways to increase acceptance of upcycled foods through tasting and co-creation

I  am a lecturer in Atlantic Technological University, Sligo, Ireland and my teaching and research focuses on sustainable food production, specifically the development of food products from insects, plant-based proteins such as oats, mycoprotein and ingredients upcycled. I am involved in a number of outreach activities such as workshops to active retirement groups and radio shows to share the findings of our research towards sustainable food production.  Recently, in collaboration with Food Cloud I led the development of a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) that aims to enable food supply chain stakeholders to manage surplus food. 
You can find details of my research and publications here https://pure.atu.ie/en/persons/maria-dermiki-2 and here https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maria-Dermiki?ev=hdr_xprf 

Malgorzata Krzywonos, Professor (full), Wrocław University of Economics and Business

Lightning Talk: Upcycled Food in Poland: Aligning Consumer Motivations and Stakeholder Priorities

Małgorzata Krzywonos is a Professor (full) at the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, specializing in circular economy, sustainable food systems, and waste valorization. Her research focuses on consumer acceptance of upcycled food and innovative pathways for agri-food by-products, with publications in leading international journals.

Dr. Ítala Marx, Principal Investigator, University of Córdoba

Keynote: Upcycling the Future - Olive Pomace as a Next-Gen Gluten-Free Functional Flour

The future of food demands radical innovation at the intersection of health, sustainability, and biotechnology. While the gluten-free market is booming, it remains nutritionally fragile and environmentally costly. At the same time, the olive oil industry generates millions of tonnes of polyphenol-rich olive pomace, with over 80% relegated to low-value chains, an untapped bioresource poised for disruption. Here, we present a circular bioeconomy blueprint for converting olive pomace into a next-generation, gluten-free functional flour. Leveraging a cascade bioprocessing pipeline, we transform olive pomace into high-value nutritional matrices enriched with dietary fibres, hydroxytyrosol derivatives, and antioxidant biocompounds. Pilot-scale validations show 5-10% substitution in snack prototypes, boosting phenolic content, fibre density, and oxidative stability, without sensory trade-offs. This convergence of food tech, upcycling, and functional nutrition delivers a triple impact: Nutritional biofortification of gluten-free foods; Circular economy valorisation of agro-waste streams; and alignment with SDGs through health promotion and resource efficiency.
Our work reframes olive pomace as a biotechnological asset, not waste, paving the way for next-gen functional foods that are as smart as they are sustainable.

Jessica Aschemann-Witzel, Professor and Centre Director, MAPP, Aarhus University

Keynote: What draws consumers to upcycled food? Exploring frugality, nostalgia and systems thinking

Dr. Andrew Tait, Ph.D., Founder Tait Labs, Affiliate Associate Professor, Concordia University

Keynote: Food Waste Is Medicine - From Citrus Peels to Crab Shells

Dr. Andrew Tait, Ph.D. in Chemistry (University of British Columbia) and Affiliate Associate Professor at Concordia University, is an entrepreneur and researcher bridging traditional medicine, modern science, and sustainable innovation. As founder of Tait Laboratories Inc., he pioneered the upcycling of citrus peels into MS+ Mandarin Skin Plus®, a natural digestive aid that has reached thousands of people across North America. His team’s 2017 studies revealed potent anti-inflammatory and gut-protective effects of specific citrus peels, insights now validated by genetic discoveries in wild mandarins. With multiple patents, clinical trials underway, and expertise navigating Canada’s Natural Health Product Regulations, Dr. Tait works at the intersection of science, regulation, and commercialization. His latest projects extend beyond citrus, exploring how invasive species like green crab shells can be transformed into valuable health products. At the heart of his work is a vision that food waste is medicine—unlocking solutions that benefit both human health and the planet.

Xiumin Chen, Professor, Jiangsu University

Keynote: From Byproduct to Functional Ingredient: Coffee Leaves in Beverages and Nutraceuticals

Xiumin Chen, PhD, in Food, Nutrition, and Health (University of British Columbia), is ranked among the Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide in Food Science. She is a Professor at Jiangsu University, China, specializing in the valorization of plant byproducts for the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals. Over the past decade, her research has focused on utilizing coffee leaves, coffee pulp, mulberry leaves, and citrus peels to create value-added food and beverage products. Her work emphasizes novel non-thermal processing technologies to enhance bioactive compound accumulation and product quality, alongside comprehensive evaluation of bioactive profiles, flavor chemistry, sensory attributes, stability, bioavailability, and health benefits. She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications in leading food science journals.

Emily Steliotes, Food Informatics Researcher & Entrepreneur, IC-FOODS & The Job Feed

Lightning Talk: Sustainable Food Informatics: From Research to Workforce Development 

Over the past 15 years, I have contributed to innovative food systems initiatives across the globe—in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. I have worked at tech & biotech companies, government research centers, impact investment organizations, academic institutions, and several nonprofits. My doctoral research leveraged multi-scale food systems data to build an informatics framework for substantiating milk bioactive claims, and was supported by IC-FOODS—a nonprofit building food systems cyberinfrastructure. Alongside my PhD, I designed & evaluated commercialization strategies, worked on industry-leading databases, and developed impactful programs & partnerships in agrifood tech. Leveraging this expertise, I now serve as the Founding Director of IC-FOODS' Canada office. I have also built a strong foundation in both social and environmental sustainability, with a particular interest in food sustainability. In addition to completing formal training in sustainability, I spent 2.5 years at a VC-backed startup called HowGood—a market leader in sustainability intelligence for the food industry—and worked on several projects in the food waste domain, which included contributing to the development of the first upcycled food standard in 2020. Blending my expertise in food sustainability with a passion for workforce development, I co-founded The Job Feed in 2023 to empower the sustainable food workforce. The Job Feed currently offers a free job board and weekly LinkedIn newsletter for job seekers as well as job posting options for employers, with upskilling offerings in development. To empower food systems professionals with data management skills, I'm also working with IC-FOODS to edit a textbook and build a series of microcredentials in the emerging field of food informatics.