A round table on the topic of Edible Rose was held in city of Karlovo in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria

On May 19, 2023, at the initiative of the Edible Rose Foundation and with the support and hosting of the Karlovo Municipality, a forum was held on the topic of the potential of the Bulgarian oil-bearing rose in the food industry.

The event aimed to bring together for the first time key representatives of the scientific community, rose growers and rose processors, businesses creating food products and beverages with rose as an ingredient, as well as local, legislative and executive authorities. The participants shared their experience and the nature of their interest in the development of this niche, but also key and emblematic industry for the country, rose production and rose processing in the context of its unexploited opportunities in the food and beverage sector. The attendees paid special attention to the potential of the rose and its derivatives – rose blossom, rose water, rose oil, as well as residual material after rose distillation, with an emphasis on the bioactive properties of these products and the added value that they could bring in end products related to internal intake (functional foods, food supplements, medicines, feed).

Representatives of the scientific community, represented by a team from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, shared the promising results of research conducted so far on the biological activity of the rose, as well as the need to deepen the work in this area, in combination with the search for intersections and joint projects with the business community, with the aim of market application of the scientifically established potential of this rich bioactivity.

Representatives from the team of the University of Food Technology in Plovdiv, for their part, shared about their applied research related to the application of residual materials after primary rose processing in feed for poultry and pigs, leading to a significant increase in the quality of the meat and eggs produced. Here too, the main challenge was outlined as the insufficient science-business connection for these developments to be effectively and fully implemented in a real environment.

From their perspective, representatives of the business related to foods and beverages containing rose shared their challenges, mainly related to their lack of access to research on the beneficial properties and potential risks of rose when consumed, lack of understanding and established practices for utilizing rose as an ingredient in food, and the lack of a clear legislative framework at the national and European level for the use of rose and rose products in foods and beverages.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Karlovo Municipality, the Bulgarian National Association for Essential Oils, Perfumery and Cosmetics, the Bioselena Foundation for Organic Agriculture, as well as a representative of the Fund of Funds, who introduced the participants in the meeting to the framework of current and future project financing opportunities.

As the initiator and organizer of the meeting, the Edible Rose Foundation clearly stated its readiness to work as a platform for information exchange and the creation of partnerships between all the participating countries, for the development of the Bulgarian damask rose, specifically in the food and beverage sector.

When asked where Bulgaria is currently in terms of developing synergistic relationships between two traditionally key industries for the country – rose production and processing and the food and beverage industry, on behalf of the Edible Rose Foundation we share the opinion that Bulgaria is currently quite behind, and in order to develop this specific potential for our country, all interested parties must make joint efforts through self-initiative and key partnerships.

Challenges and necessary measures that the participants in the meeting identified are related precisely to building an active and coordinated, practically working cooperation between administrative and executive authorities, scientific circles and business.

As a first step towards the common goal of all those present, the event successfully fulfilled its function of creating initial contact and exchanging contacts in the context of the prospects for the development of this specific direction – roses and food.