On behalf of the Organising Committee, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the 14th edition of the International Congress on Engineering and Food (ICEF14) in Nantes, France. ICEF14 is endorsed on the International Association for Engineering and Food (IAEF) with support from the SFGP (Société Française de Génie des Procédés), CNRS (National Scientific Council for Research) and INRAE (National Research Institute on Agriculture, Food and Environment). ICEF event is back in France after the ICEF9 held in Montpellier in 2004.

During the Lockdown in 2020, the truck traffic was cut to 40% of normal situation; the food industry had to keep on production and the remaining 40% of truck traffic were 30% for food + 10% for others, demonstrating the importance of the food supply chains and industry. This pandemia also demonstrated that the food logistics and by the way food preservation and storage are of extree importance in the supply chain, with consumers expecting more local foods, meanwhile the food industry is facing increasing energy costs and by the way increasing logistic costs.

The resilience of the food supply chain is vital for the population all other the world. ICEF14 appears as an opportunity to face all these stakes and to bring together the best world’s experts in food engineering, food processing and food science. Based on this challenge, we have created an exciting program covering a wide array of topics around the Congress theme “SUSTAINABLE FOOD MANUFACTURING FOR A RESILIENT FOOD CHAIN”. Several distinguished international speakers, both from academia and industry have been invited to debate around the critical role of engineers in securing human nutrition and health and support environmental sustainability.

We hope and trust ICEF14 will create opportunities to network with old friends and colleagues, make new friends, and to enjoy the French culture, and, of course, the best French food and wine. We would like also to gratefully acknowledge the support of our sponsors and exhibitors, of the Région Pays de La Loire as well as Nantes Métropole who are both long term supports for all our research activities. Last we would like to thank the many colleagues, students and staff that volunteered their time to make this event possible and promote it globally.