Expert Talks, Awards & Networking

The meeting point for international expertise, strong partnerships, and practical solutions to food loss & waste.

The SAVE FOOD Expert Talks will make interpack on 12 May 2026 the central meeting point for everyone looking to tackle food loss & waste with concrete solutions. International organisations, companies, and initiatives will show how packaging can protect food, strengthen sustainability, and drive change in practice.
The focus will be on regulatory developments, sustainable packaging solutions, global cooperation, and effective approaches to reducing food losses along the entire value chain.

Awards, the project competition, and additional formats will make SAVE FOOD a platform for innovation, exchange, and international expertise. With more than 100 submissions to the SAVE FOOD Design Awards and the Sustainability Design Awards, the format also sends a strong signal about the relevance of innovative and sustainable solutions in the packaging industry.

Programme & Highlights

Presentation of the SAVE FOOD Design Awards and the Sustainability Design Awards
Project competition and additional formats focused on innovations against food loss & waste
International forums on transformation, packaging solutions, and food protection
Practical insights from industry, research, and international organisations
Networking and exchange over snacks and conversations

Event Details

Date: Tuesday, 12 May 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Venue: Hall 1, Room 14, see site plan

The forums will be moderated by Nerida Kelton, Vice President Sustainability & SAVE FOOD, World Packaging Organisation, and Dr Johannes Bergmair, General Secretary, World Packaging Organisation.

Free Registration

Secure your place now at the SAVE FOOD Expert Talks and connect with international stakeholders from packaging, processing, logistics, and sustainability.

Register now

The Forums

FORUM 1:
Global Packaging in Transition: Regulation, Partnerships and the Race for Sustainable Value

FORUM 2:
Turning Packaging into a Food Saver: Trends, Innovations, and Solutions Across the Food Supply Chain

Forum 1

Global Packaging in Transition: Regulation, Partnerships and the Race for Sustainable Value

How can packaging systems be further developed to meet sustainability goals while at the same time protecting food along the entire value chain? At the opening of the SAVE FOOD programme, leading international organisations and industry representatives – including UNIDO, FAO, WPO, Messe Düsseldorf, and the SAVE FOOD Initiative – will discuss one of the most pressing challenges facing the industry.

Against the backdrop of growing regulatory requirements and rising expectations for more responsible solutions, innovation, cooperation, and international alignment are moving more strongly than ever into focus. The forum will show how international frameworks, policy alignment, design standards, systemic programmes, and strong partnerships can accelerate this transition and open up new opportunities – with packaging as a key lever in reducing food loss & waste.

Moderator: Dr Johannes Bergmair, General Secretary, World Packaging Organisation

Dr Johannes Bergmair is General Secretary of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). He lectures on packaging technology at several Austrian and German universities, works as a court-appointed expert for packaging and serves as an auditor for hygiene management at Quality Austria.

In addition, he is a member of the Austrian Standardisation Committee for Packaging and has represented Austria on the WPO Board since 2011. Before taking on his current role, he served for three years as WPO Vice President Sustainability and Food Safety.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-bergmair-20984414

Participants in the panel discussion

Nerida Kelton

Vice President Sustainability & SAVE FOOD at the World Packaging Organisation and Executive Director of the Australasian Institute of Packaging

Nerida Kelton is Vice President Sustainability & SAVE FOOD at the World Packaging Organisation and Executive Director of the Australasian Institute of Packaging. With more than 27 years of industry experience, she led the research project behind the now globally recognised SAVE FOOD Packaging Design Guidelines.

She is also the author of the new global WPO position paper, developed together with Wageningen University and UNIDO, on the tension between food and packaging waste, and she delivers SAVE FOOD Packaging Design training around the world.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/neridakelton

Michael Schmidt

Deputy Head of UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Promotion Office Germany

Michael Schmidt has more than 25 years of experience in international business, investment, and trade promotion, with a strong focus on energy, agriculture, processing industries, and sustainable technologies.

As Deputy Head of UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Promotion Office Germany at the UN Campus in Bonn, he supports technology transfer and investment projects in emerging and developing economies. His current regional focus is on Africa and the MENA region.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mschmidtbonn

Myriam Annette

Food Engineer

Myriam Annette is a food engineer with more than 20 years of experience in food and agriculture. Since joining FAO in 2012, she has supported projects focused on reducing food loss and waste as well as transforming agrifood systems.

She provides technical expertise in policy development, capacity building, and the implementation of best practices across the food value chain, and contributes to global guidelines, tools, and training programmes.

Andrea Eppert

Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Messe Düsseldorf GmbH

Andrea Eppert is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. Her focus is on integrating sustainability into internal processes and reducing the environmental footprint of trade fairs as much as possible.

At the same time, she creates platforms where sustainable innovations can be showcased and where transformation issues and current regulatory developments can be discussed with representatives from industry, research, and politics.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-eppert-324a3a1b6

Ivania Portillo-Elzer

Senior Project Manager Processing & Packaging, Messe Düsseldorf GmbH

Ivania Portillo-Elzer holds MBAs in Sustainability and International Business and has been working for Messe Düsseldorf for more than 13 years. For the past four years, she has been part of the interpack team and leads the SAVE FOOD Initiative as Senior Project Manager.

In this role, she works closely with international partners such as the World Packaging Organisation, FAO, and UNIDO and promotes best practices, international cooperation, and innovative solutions around food loss & waste.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ivania-portillo-elzer

Forum 2

Turning Packaging into a Food Saver: Trends, Innovations, and Solutions Across the Food Supply Chain

This forum focuses on practical industry solutions and concrete best practices. Experts from certification, packaging technology, retail, and logistics will show how packaging innovation, smart logistics, and cross-sector collaboration can help better protect food along the entire supply chain.

From extending shelf life and maintaining the cold chain to improving distribution efficiency, the session will highlight how different stakeholders across the value chain can work together. In this way, packaging becomes an effective tool for reducing food loss & waste.

Moderator: Nerida Kelton, Vice President Sustainability & SAVE FOOD, World Packaging Organisation

Nerida Kelton is Vice President Sustainability & SAVE FOOD at the World Packaging Organisation and Executive Director of the Australasian Institute of Packaging. With more than 27 years of industry experience, she led the research project behind the now globally recognised SAVE FOOD Packaging Design Guidelines.

She is also the author of the new global WPO position paper, developed together with Wageningen University and UNIDO, on the tension between food and packaging waste, and she delivers SAVE FOOD Packaging Design training around the world.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/neridakelton/

Participants in the panel discussion

Elsabe Matthee

Technical Director at Foundation FSSC

Elsabe Matthee is Technical Director at Foundation FSSC. She is responsible for the Foundation’s technical area, including strategic planning, project portfolio management, and continuous improvement, with the objective of delivering impactful, robust, and widely accepted schemes and related programmes for the consumer goods industry.

Before joining FSSC in 2020, she worked for two major international certification bodies and led global third-party certification activities in the food sector.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elsabe-matthee-079a0a62

Dr Johannes Epple

CFO of the MULTIVAC Group

Dr Johannes Epple has been with MULTIVAC since 2018. After roles as Consultant in Sales Controlling, Senior Director IT, and Vice President Corporate IT, he took on additional responsibility in 2024 for Controlling, Finance, Treasury, and IT as Commercial Director / Executive Vice President.

Since July 2025, he has been CFO of the MULTIVAC Group, responsible for Corporate IT, Controlling, Finance, Treasury, and Corporate HR.

Dirk Urra

Global Business Development at Kühne+Nagel Expo & Events

Dirk Urra is Head of Global Business Development at Kühne+Nagel Expo & Events. He focuses on the complex challenges of exhibition and event logistics and is committed to continuous improvement and efficiency.

His focus is on reducing waste in processes and creating lean, high-impact solutions for the industry and its clients worldwide.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dirk-urra-92875745

Sandra Hallaschka

Project lead of the SIG Foundation’s “Cartons for Good” initiative

Sandra Hallaschka is one of the two project leads of the SIG Foundation’s “Cartons for Good” initiative. Under this leadership, the initiative has developed from a project into a scalable concept.

Its goal is to reduce food loss and improve access to healthy nutrition for people in need around the world.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-hallaschka-40a3853a