On the 1^st of January 2024, METROFOOD-RI has officially entered in the "Early Phase Implementation" with the starting of the Horizon Europe project METROFOOD-EPI.

The METROFOOD-EPI’s kick-off meeting was held in Freising (Munich), the 24^th and 25^th of January 2024.

The overarching mission is to advance the building process of METROFOOD-RI as infrastructure consolidated for its full implementation and ensure an effective start of the operational phase.

The project is developed around 4 objectives that are carried out thanks to a reciprocal and continuous interaction between project partners, users, and stakeholders:

Ø  support the creation of the legal entity that will manage the research infrastructure,

Ø  specify the technical implementation of the RI as service-oriented,

Ø  consolidate its positioning in the European landscape, and

Ø  secure the long-term sustainability.

Achieving these objectives will allow our users (researchers, policymakers, inspection and control agencies, agrifood companies, consumers, and citizens) to have access to a wide range of services, state-of-the-art laboratories, facilities and experimental structures.