Apples, walnuts, and grapes – how can these and other regional foods affect our well-being. The cross-border research network “nutrhi.net” has the aim to discover new findings and communicate these to the consumers.

“nutrhi.net“ is a scientific nutritional network in the Upper-Rhine region. The initiators – the Universities Karlsruhe and Strasbourg, the Cancer Research Centre IRCAD, and the Technical Institute for Food Industry Áerial in Strasbourg, as well as the Max Rubner-Institute in Karlsruhe, set themselves the target of researching the special qualities of regional foods, evaluating them in a scientifically substantiated way, and optimizing consumer information. The approach to research covers everything from the production of the foods to their marketing and to their consumption. Initially at the centre of attention will be apples, walnuts, and grapes, which are found in many varieties in the region and will now be carefully examined as to their health effect.

This project will make an important contribution in Baden-Württemberg and Alsace to prevent diet-related widespread diseases, such as overweight and cancer. The planned communication measures will be accompanied by innovative approaches to research in close collaboration with the workgroups involved in the research areas of food technology and analytics, nutritional physiology, nutritional behaviour, and also of the regional food producers. Nutrhi.net is designed to address citizens on both sides of the Rhine who are interested in this topic, but up to this point had no adequate access to the relevant information.

The project which is funded by the InterReg program of the EU, will develop new pathways of information in the entire region starting in 2009, with the involvement of the Regierungspräsidium Freiburg and the Landesministerium für Ernährung und Ländlichen Raum Stuttgart. Communication events regarding current topics of nutrition as well as this newly installed internet presentation will be the core of knowledge transfer from the nutrhi.net.