Point of contact at UniTrento
dott.ssa Sihem Dabbou (coordinator)
dott.ssa Annachiara Berardinelli 
prof. Eugenio Aprea
dr. Simone Cerroni
prof. Gianfranco Anfora
prof.ssa Flavia Gasperi 
prof.ssa Maria Stella Grando

The forecasts of the FAO and the United Nations indicate that in the next 35 years the world population will grow by over two billion units, reaching 9.5 billion people in 2050. To cope with this increase in consumption, it is estimated that the production of animal products will have to double. The expected demographic increase will therefore also lead to an increase in the demand for food of animal origin and, consequently, for conventional feed raw materials. Starting from these assumptions, a change is necessary to avoid a further depletion of the planet's resources. The pillars for the development of the forthcoming food production must be food security and environmental sustainability: in relation to these two key challenges a greater interest in finding new and diversified protein sources has been recently generated. 
The main research topics concern:

• Circular economy: use of novel food and feed as bio-converters of organic material;
• Use of the new alternative sources in the diet of monogastrics (fish and chickens): performance, product quality and animal welfare;
• Use of these new alternative sources in food technology applications;
• Study of the acceptability of such innovative technological solutions by the productive economic agents operating in the related supply chains, considering the associated business risks;
• Study of the acceptability of products deriving from such innovative solutions by consumers using quantitative marketing techniques.