Perspectives for long-term development of the food industry are closely related to innovations. It is one of the most promising areas of regional economy. It mostly applies to the production of functional and ecological food as well as dietary supplements. Increased importance of this market segment results from challenges related to the nutrition of expanding society, treatment and prevention of diseases of affluence. The World Health Organisation forecasts that diseases resulting from poor diet will represent three quarters of deaths in the world. Such estimates clearly show how big the role of new generation food, functional food and nutraceuticals in particular, will become.

Extensive state-of-the-art R&D facilities favour growth in the production of such food in the Lower Silesian province. Scientific centres such as the University of Wrocław, the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, the Wrocław Medical University, the Wrocław University of Economics and the Wrocław University of Science and Technology operate in the region. They have qualified academic staff that educates specialists in biotechnology and functional food production. They also conduct studies aimed at developing and implementing innovations. Some of them are part of the Wrocław Centre for Biotechnology, which is a consortium with a status of a National Scientific Leadership Centre (KNOW). It specialises in research connected with biotechnology, chemistry, immunology, biomedicine, medicine, veterinary medicine and functional food. Close cooperation between its members ensures effective use of results of studies concerning the development of new technologies and the transfer of knowledge to industry.

Lower Silesia is home to numerous R&D institutions and business environment institutions that support the development of the industry focused on high-quality food. They include the Wrocław Technology Park (WTP) with its Technological Line complex. It is Poland’s only high-tech production installation used for purposes such as the production of nutraceuticals and biomedical products. Technological lines comprising the complex (e.g. chemical extraction line, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction line and micro-encapsulation line) allow performing pilot production of products that have not been marketed yet.

The setting up and operation of the Technological Line is closely connected to the operation of the NUTRIBIOMED Cluster, which WTP is a coordinator of. Since 2006, it has had the status of a Key National Cluster, which means that it is of exceptional importance to Polish economy. It associates nearly 100 companies of different sizes, colleges and R&D units that cooperate to develop new food products. The Cluster’s operations bring specific business benefits. Entities being its part receive support, in the form of de minimis aid, that reduce the cost of using the Facility’s infrastructure. Companies with smaller capital are also free to use its potential.

Nutribiomed is merely one example of cooperation between science and business. The growth of high-quality food sector is also positively affected by initiatives such as the “Food for the Future” Association and cluster partnerships between local food producers (e.g. the Cluster for Local Products from the Barycz Valley and the Trzebnica Hills or the Lower Silesian Cluster of Fishfarmers).

High-quality food industry is currently undergoing intensive development. It is a perfect moment to get involved in it, establish new businesses, launch R&D projects or invest in innovations which other specialists are working on. Partnership of business and science and the R&D infrastructure of Lower Silesia provide excellent conditions for that.

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