ULTIMO María Mora participates in the 10th. EUROSENSE conference with projects on sensory analysis and circular economy.

From September 13 to 16, the 10th conference on sensory and consumer research EUROSENSE: 'A sense of earth' was held in Turku, Finland, in which professionals from the area of ​​sensory evaluation and consumers, both academics and industry, exchanged ideas and shared their projects. This year attention has been given to innovative approaches to study sensory perception in relation to preference, choice, and other types of behavior from a global perspective.

On behalf of BCC innovation, María Mora Gijón, a scientific researcher within the team, has participated with a flash presentation and poster on the research 'Citizens at the center of the transition towards sustainable cities', which is part of one of our projects insignia 'Building a green gastronomic city', whose objective is to find solutions based on the circular economy to the challenges related to sustainability and gastronomic identity in the urban agri-food community of San Sebastian.

This research sought to identify appropriate ways to transform cities into "greener cities" with the help of social initiatives, citizen science, and qualitative studies of consumers within the context of a gastronomic living lab, in the center of San Sebastián, through an analysis of the local food system. Subsequently, pilot initiatives were designed and carried out with different agents of the food system. The initiatives were classified into four groups: awareness actions, government instruments, urban planning and digitization of the food system.

Authors: María Mora, Paula Torán-Pereg, Laura Vázquez-Araújo, Elena Romeo-Arroyo, Stefani Novo. BCCInnovation, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain. Basque Culinary Center, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.

On the other hand, María has participated in a poster session with the research: 'Unraveling the perfect cheese analogue: projective mapping of vegan cheeses with chefs and gastronomes', as part of the Gastrobegan project. The research is based on the premise that animal protein has textures and sensory properties that cannot be easily replaced with plant-based alternatives. The objective of the project is to identify potential sensory shortcomings and areas of improvement in cheese analogues available in the Spanish market, for the development of accurate vegan cheese substitutes.

Authors: María Mora, Paula Torán-Pereg, Laura Vázquez-Araújo, Elena Romeo-Arroyo, Stefani Novo. BCCInnovation, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain. Basque Culinary Center, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.