Dr. Olga Szulecka and Dr. Marcin Rakowski from the Department of Fisheries Economics at the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute (MIR-PIB) attended the West European Fish Technologists Association (WEFTA) conference, titled “The Blue Bioeconomy – Meeting the Challenges of the Future,” held in Reykjavik, Iceland, from October 12–16, 2026. The event followed last year’s WEFTA conference, which was hosted by MIR-PIB in Gdańsk, and brought together nearly 90 scientists from 18 countries.
During the conference, the MIR-PIB representatives presented findings from the Up4Food project via a poster titled “Consumer acceptance of food upcycling: cross-country insights from the Up4Food CAWI survey.” Additionally, Dr. Szulecka delivered a presentation titled “Social Labs as a consumer co-creation tool for upcycled food concepts: results from the Up4Food project,” in which she discussed the use of “social labs” to identify the conditions necessary for consumers to accept food products enriched with nutrients derived from food processing side-streams. The presentations on the Up4Food project generated significant interest among the conference attendees. Dr. Szulecka also served as a member of the conference’s scientific committee, moderated one of the scientific sessions on the second day, and participated in a meeting of national WEFTA representatives as the delegate for Poland.
On the final day of the conference, during a study visit, the MIR-PIB representatives had the opportunity to explore Iceland’s whitefish processing industry, land-based Atlantic salmon farming, and the production of microalgae – specifically Nannochloropsis and Spirulina – powered by geothermal energy. The WEFTA conference was an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience regarding consumer research and technological developments in the fisheries sector.
Photo: From left: Dr Olga Szulecka and Dr Marcin Rakowski from the Department of Fisheries Economics at NMFRI during the WEFTA 2026 Conference.
Photo: Presentation by Dr Olga Szulecka entitled “Social Labs as a consumer co-creation tool for upcycled food concepts: results from the Up4Food project”.
Photo: NMFRI representatives standing next to a poster presenting the results of the Up4Food project.
Photo: Study tour during the WEFTA 2026 Conference – cultivation of Nannochloropsis microalgae
and pesto made with spirulina.
