News
9th International Sourdough Symposium brings Bread Science and Tradition to Brussels
From 23 to 27 February 2026, sourdough researchers, bakers and food innovators from across Europe and beyond gathered in Brussels for the 9th International Sourdough Symposium. Several HealthFerm me...
HealthFerm Coordinator Christophe Courtin Featured on the Slow Food Podcast
Can fermentation improve plant-based foods? What exactly happens during fermentation from a food chemistry perspective? And what are the concrete health benefits of eating fermented foods?
These are...
New HealthFerm Book of Methods on Fermented Grain-Based Foods Published
We are excited to announce the publication of "Characterisation of Fermented Grain-based Raw Materials and Foods: Analytical Methods from the HealthFerm Project". This key scientific output of the H...
HealthFerm Experts Showcase Citizen Science and AI Innovations at CS4Health 2025, Zurich
At the Citizen Science for Health 2025 conference, held from 6–7 November in Zurich, Annina Meyer from ETH Zurich presented HealthFerm’s groundbreaking work on co-creating scientific knowledge with ci...
HealthFerm Experts at the 1st International Conference on Fermented Foods 2025, Bolzano
The 1st International Conference on Fermented Foods (ICFF 2025), hosted at NOI Techpark in Bolzano from 27–30 October 2025 and organised by the International Centre on Food Fermentations (ICOFF) of th...
HealthFerm Symposium on Fermented Grain-Based Foods at ICC Conference 2025, Vienna
During the 21st International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) Conference “Cereals and Pulses: Bridging Science and Innovation to drive the Transformation of the Food System” held i...
HealthFerm Project Receives Honorary Mention in EU Prize for Citizen Science 2025
The European research project HealthFerm has been awarded an Honorary Mention in the 2025 EU Prize for Citizen Science. Out of 409 applicants, only 27 projects across Europe received this distinction,...
HealthFerm’s 6th Progress Meeting Showcases Innovations in Plant-Based Fermented Foods in Umeå
On 9-10 September 2025, the 6th HealthFerm Progress Meeting gathered researchers and industry partners in Umeå, Sweden, for two dynamic days of exchange on the future of plant-based fermented foods....
HealthFerm Showcases Oat Research at the Food Oats Conference 2025, Leuven
The Food Oats Conference 2025, held in Leuven from 12-14 October 2025 under the theme “Oats for a Diverse, Innovative, and Healthy Global Food System,” gathered leading scientists, industry experts, a...
HealthFerm Holds Symposium Bridging Science, Technology and Society
On 8 September 2025, the Symposium on the Present and Future of Plant-Based Fermented Foods took place at Umeå University, Sweden, bringing together researchers, technologists and social scientists...
"On the Flavor of Faba Bean Ingredients": HealthFerm's First PhD Thesis Succesfully Defended
The HealthFerm project marked a significant milestone with the successful defense of its first PhD thesis. The work, titled "On the flavor of faba bean ingredients: Consumer acceptance, sensory percep...
Future of Food: HealthFerm to participate at the B2F Europe Summit in The Hague
The crucial role of fermentation in shaping the future of food was shown at the B2F Europe Summit in The Hague on 3-5 June 2025, where Kristof Brijs, Innovation Manager at KU Leuven, delivered an in...
Second HealthFerm Summer School Cultivates Young Talent in Lyon
On 20-21 May 2025, the second edition of the HealthFerm Summer School took place at Institut Lyfe (formerly the Institue Paul Bocuse), bringing together 11 PhD students for an intensive programme. I...
The science of sourdough: HealthFerm featured in Horizon Magazine
HealthFerm has just been featured in HORIZON: The EU Research & Innovation magazine. The article titled “The science of sourdough – how citizens are helping shape the future of fermented foods” hi...
Launch of the HealthFerm Plant-Based Fermentation Network
Exciting news! Our HealthFerm Plant-Based Fermentation Network has officially launched!
The HealthFerm Network is composed of a professional community and platform for sharing knowledge and inf...
How can fermented foods support health and sustainability? - An ISAPP podcast with Prof. Christophe Courtin (KU Leuven)
HealthFerm was featured in an episode of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) podcast. Prof. Christophe Courtin (HealthFerm Coordinator, KU Leuven) dives...
Third HealthFerm Stakeholder Board Meeting
On 27th January 2025, we had the pleasure to host our third HealthFerm Stakeholder Board Meeting.
We were pleased to welcome EFSA as the newest member of our Stakeholder Board. The meeting took p...
Second Annual HealthFerm Meeting: a tasteful workshop, insightful discussions, and a VTT company visit in Helsinki
The HealthFerm consortium came together for their second Annual Meeting from the 10-11th of September 2024. The University of Helsinki kindly hosted the meeting in Helsinki, Finland.
On 9th of Septe...
HealthFerm Workshop – 9th of September 2024 - @ University of Helsinki
On 9th of September 2024, the HealthGrain Forum and ICC organised an exciting workshop together with the University of Helsinki at the Viikki Campus in Helsinki, Finland.
After a warm welcome a...
HealthFerm Summer School at Institut Lyfe
From June 24th to 26th, 2024, the HealthFerm Summer School took place in the city of Lyon, France. Hosted at the prestigious Institut Lyfe (formerly the Institut Paul Bocuse), this event provided an e...
HealthFerm Releases Comprehensive Survey on European Consumer Attitudes Towards Plant-Based Fermented Foods
HealthFerm published preliminary findings from its survey of European consumer preferences and attitudes towards plant-based fermented foods. Conducted by researchers at Umeå University, the survey pr...
FEMSmicroBlog article about the HealthFerm Citizen Science project
Freelance science writer Vilhelmiina Haavisto recently shared insights about the current activities in the HealthFerm Citizen Science project on the FEMSmicroBlog! She explains the successes and c...
HealthFerm Stakeholder Board Workshop: Exploring Consumer Attitudes Towards Plant-Based Fermented Foods - Insights from HealthFerm's Consumer Survey
On April 30th, 2024, a Stakeholder Board workshop was organized with the intention to disseminate the findings of a first consumer survey with focus on plant-based fermented foods.
After the introd...
Celebrating World Pulses Day: A Spotlight on Fermented Pulses
Since 2018, on February 10th the United Nations (UN) celebrates World Pulses Day, a global event designed to raise public awareness about the environmental significance and nutritional benefits of...
HealthFerm Citizen Science - update and delicious recipe!
Dear HealthFerm Citizen Scientists, thank you very much for your active participation in the HealthFerm citizen sourdough project! Since the project collection launch in September, our sourdough commu...
HealthFerm at the EFFoST conference 2023 in Valencia, Spain
From 6th – 8th of November 2023, HealthFerm was represented by several consortium partners at the EFFoST Conference 2023 in Valencia, Spain. Consortium members actively participated in presentations,...
First Annual HealthFerm Meeting: a successful workshop, fruitful discussions, and an insightful company visit in Zurich
After the first year of the project, the HealthFerm consortium came together for their first Annual Meeting from the 5th-6th of September 2023. ETH Zurich kindly hosted the meeting at their beautiful...
HealthFerm showcases their research in a newly released animated video
Using innovative pulse and cereal-based food fermentations, HealthFerm strives to develop and introduce products for a healthier and more sustainable diet.
The consortium has just released a brand-n...
Calling on sourdough bakers and all fermentation enthusiasts - HealthFerm launches Citizen Science Experiment to advance research into plant-based fermented foods
30.08.2023 – You can now register for HealthFerm Citizen Science Experiment
Fermented foods are present in our daily diet and across different food cultures: from (sourdough) bread to beer, wine, pi...
Second HealthFerm training webinar
On June 15th, a 2nd HealthFerm Training Webinar took place on on the Impact of microbial fermentation on food composition and nutritional attributes.
This webinar introduced the participants in the...
Science, not limited to scientist – successful HealthFerm co-design workshop held in Belgium
On Thursday, 30th of March 2023, 29 sourdough enthusiasts gathered in Leuven, Belgium, to share experiences and improve research. This co-creation workshop was organised by KU Leuven and Vrije Universiteit Brussel in collaboration with Alice down the rabbit hole, a company specialising in co-creation.
Co-design workshop for sourdough bakers in Finland
Sourdough lovers! Do you want to know why your sourdough is unique? Do you want to know how to make it even better?
Then participate in our research project and discover the secrets of your starter...
Co-design workshop for sourdough bakers in Sweden - registration now open
Do you love baking sourdough bread or fermenting at home and want to find out what makes your final products unique? Would you like to contribute to scientific research and learn more about your live...
EU Knowledge Valorisation Week 2023: Learn More on Turning Research into Solutions
Join stakeholders and policymakers at the EU Knowledge Valorisation Week between 25 April and 28 April 2023. The annual event highlights best practices promoting the uptake of research results and sci...
New co-design workshop for home and professional sourdough bakers in Belgium
Are you living in Belgium, do you enjoy baking sourdough bread and want to discover what makes your bread unique? Would you like to contribute to scientific research while learning more about the scie...
HealthFerm citizen science activites are kicking off in Zurich
Calling on all home bakers! - First workshop on 16th March 2023
- Do you enjoy baking sourdough bread and want to discover what makes your bread unique?
- Would you like to contribute to scientific...
First HealthFerm training webinar
Over the course of the project, HealthFerm partners jointly create a series of webinars, workshops, spring/autumn schools for network-level training of junior and senior researchers in each of the pro...
First HealthFerm Stakeholder Board Meeting
On 20th January 2023, we had the pleasure to host our first HealthFerm Stakeholder Board Meeting. We had the opportunity to meet those members of the Board who have supported HealthFerm from the very...
HealthFerm presented at the 8th International Conference on Dietary Fibre 2022
The HealthFerm project was presented at the 8th International Dietary Fibre Conference 2022 (DF22) which took place on 16-18 October 2022 in Leuven, Belgium. The conference was hosted by the Laborator...
New EU Research Project HealthFerm Just Launched: Plant-based Fermented Foods for Healthier and More Sustainable Diets
Leuven, 1st September 2022 – Fermented foods are consumed in Europe and across the globe. Especially in the past decades, fermented foods have been hailed for their nutritional and perceived health be...
Upcoming Events
HealthFerm Webinar
Study results of health and microbiome related impact of fermented foods // Health Ferm Project
On 23 April, 2026, 13:00-14:30 CET, our next HealthFerm webinar will be organised on study results of health and microbiome related impact of fermented foods .
The speakers include:
- Christophe Courtin, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and Coordinator of HealthFerm
- Kristin Verbecke, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
- Valery Gutsal, Novonesis
Phd contributions:
- Vilma Liikonen
- Riet Rosseel
- Sebastian Proost
- Gaël Toubon
Moderator:
Jan de Vries, Nutrition Solutions
The webinar will cover:
- Identification of microorganisms and metabolites associated with health
- Intervention study 2: Impact of a fermented plant-based dairy alternative high in protein and fibre on cardiometabolic health
- Intervention study 3: Impact of a fermented meat alternative high in protein and fibre on cardiometabolic health
- Intervention study 4: Kinetics and gut hormone release of SCFA delivered to the small intestine (mimicking fermented foods) or large intestine (mimicking fibre fermentation)
==> The recording of the webinar will be made available after the event!