Introduction

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated that by 2050 the world population will increase up to 9.1 billion people, requiring a raise of 70% in food production between 2005 and 2050. Thus, a significant increase in production is needed, but it is of paramount importance to adopt more efficient and sustainable production methods^[1].

The European Food and Beverage (F&B) industry contributes to the global supply of food products, economic growth, employment, and innovation while spreading and protecting the EU food culture. The sector is composed of 294,000 companies, of which 99% are SMEs, with less than 9 people employed in each company; the sector provides 4.6 million jobs and invests € 1.9 billion in research and innovation^[2].

The F&B sector in Europe is committed to leading the way in the transition toward more sustainable approaches, which is now a crucial turning point for health, wealth, and longevity of our nations, economies, and last but not least, our planet. Recent and current disruptive circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and critical weather conditions, have left many F&B companies facing difficulties, while generally showing the resilience of the entire sector. However, in order to address the transition of agri-food systems, and invest in sustainable production methods, that will increase their resilience to the several crises we are currently experiencing, immediate and coordinated action is needed to achieve these goals.