At the University of Turku, food-related research is conducted across several faculties. UTU Food Hub is a developing and growing network that brings together researchers interested in food-related topics & aims to strengthen the University of Turku’s profile as a multidisciplinary actor in food research. This can mean joint research proposals & projects, multidisciplinary courses, seminars, workshops, etc. Come and build the Food Hub with us!
Identified Themes
Food is a multidisciplinary research topic, and we’ve already identified several areas of food expertise at the University of Turku. The current members of the network represent the Faculties of Medicine, Technology and Social Sciences, and Turku School of Economics.
- Food Science
- Health & Wellbeing
- Histories and Futures of Food
- Human Behavior & Actions
- Nutrition
- Multisensory Experiences
- Politics & Regulations
- Society, Culture & Language
- Sustainability
- Technological Solutions & Innovations
Something missing? Let us know by joining the Food Hub!
Join the Food Hub
The main communications channel of the Food Hub is Teams. By joining the team, you’ll receive information about the upcoming events and can connect with other researchers who are also interested in food-related research.
Contact Us
Behind the Food Hub is a multidisciplinary group of people who are involved in planning the future activities and developing the network.
- Anni Kerttula, Research Coordinator, Nutrition and Food Research Center
- Veera Houttu, Senior Researcher, Nutrition and Food Research Center
- Kirsi Laitinen, Professor, Nutrition and Food Research Center
- Maaria Kortesniemi, Associate Professor, Food Sciences
- Riikka Saarimaa, Research Coordinator, Finland Futures Research Center
- Anna Kirveennummi, Senior Researcher, Finland Futures Research Center
- Mary Song, Doctoral Researcher, Centre for East Asian Studies
- Ecem Akar Ertem, Doctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering
Feel free to contact us individually or sending an email to foodhub@utu.fi.
Events
UTU Food Hub Seminar on October 9, 2026
Welcome to the UTU Food Hub Seminar dedicated to the wonderful food-related research that we do at the University of Turku!
Interesting Links & Resources
Nutrition and Food Research Center (NuFo, former Functional Foods Forum, FFF) is a center in the Faculty of Medicine combining multidisciplinary nutrition, food and health research.
The research of the Food Sciences Unit focuses on understanding the composition, nutritional properties, sensory qualities, and health benefits of food resources as well as application of the knowledge in food development research.
Finland Futures Research Centre participates in long-term research and development to promote everyday sustainability. In our research, we focus especially on the sustainability of everyday activities of an individual.
Our recent research projects have focused particularly on sustainable food consumption and climate-friendly energy. We also study bioeconomy, human-ecosystem relationship, sustainable mobility and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
NordicFOOD advances the transition towards sustainable food systems from Nordic and global perspectives. Adopting a systems approach, NordicFOOD profiling measure tackles major challenges in resource, technology, people, and society, as the key elements of food systems. Our goal is to translate the science and technological competence to concrete solutions that enable paradigm shifts in the food systems.
FOODNUTRI is a national research infrastructure focusing on climate smart food and nutrition. In addition to contributing to the implementation of the EU’s Food 2030 policy, the purpose of the infrastructure is to widely serve the whole national food system – from researchers, business operators, authorities, healthcare professionals, farmers to other stakeholders.
Flavoria® is a multidisciplinary research platform at the University of Turku. It offers a genuine lunch restaurant environment and a multisensory space for research setups related to food choices, health, sustainability, technology, consumer behavior, etc. The platform is coordinated by the Nutrition and Food Research Center at the University of Turku.