The Fedima General Assembly meeting was held in Istanbul at The Grand Tarabya Hotel from September 18 to 20, hosted by the Gıdabil Association. On the first day, a welcome cocktail reception was held for all participants in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere.
On the second day, following the Fedima technical committee meetings, a General Assembly meeting was held. At the meeting, the Fedima Activity Report and budgets were approved. Parallel sessions were held in the afternoon.
Session 1: Moderator: Dirk Van Ham (FEDIMA Secretary General) and Speaker: Cyrille Filott – Global Strategist at Rabobank, who provided insights into the short- and long-term challenges and opportunities affecting the sector, addressing critical topics such as consumer spending habits, demographic shifts, geopolitical impacts, and the driving forces behind sustainability.
Session 2: Speaker: Michael Lippens – TraceGains Customer Representative for Europe and the Middle East – discussed the future of data sharing in the baking industry.
Session 3: Moderator: Oana Iacob-Le Roy (FEDIMA Secretariat) and Speakers: Prof. Beraat Özçelik – Professor, Department of Food Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, and Melis Yasa – Member of the Board of Directors at Aromsa, discussed nutrition trends and innovations.
Session 4: Moderator: Sybila Galera (FEDIMA Secretariat) and Speakers: Prof. Dr. Hamit Koksel – Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, İstinye University; Frederik Mejlby – Vice President of Food and Beverage Marketing at Novozymes; with a presentation on “Bread Consumption and Promotion in Turkey”; Best Practices and Outlook were discussed.
At the evening gala dinner, Fedima President Thomas Lesaffre and the members of the Board of Directors thanked all the participants and everyone who contributed to the event, particularly Dr. Mehmet Çetin Duruk, President of the Gıdabil Association.
A tour of the Istanbul Halk Ekmek Ahmet İsvan Factory was conducted yesterday. All participants expressed that they were very impressed by the visit to the IHE factory and by this unique initiative—unseen in other countries—aimed at promoting bread consumption in our country.
