In a constantly changing world, food safety is becoming more than a regulatory requirement — it is becoming a social mission. The year 2025 marks for IBA Bucharest (the National Research & Development Institute for Food Bioresources) a renewed commitment: through research, innovation, and concrete services, IBA aims to respond to the “challenges of society” and contribute to a healthy, sustainable, and safe food system.

At the helm of the institution stands a person with vision and experience: Nastasia Belc — decades of work dedicated to the cause of safe and healthy nutrition.

IBA Bucharest: why it matters in 2025

IBA is a benchmark in agri-food research in Romania — operating along four strategic directions: food safety, nutrition, consumer behavior, and food biotechnologies.

• The institution’s infrastructure is extensive: 9 laboratories, 3 pilot experimental stations, and several support units, including a Technology Transfer Center. This enables IBA to integrate research, testing, pilot production, and transfer to industry.
• IBA also provides services to third parties: laboratory analyses, production of customized foods for individuals with special needs, and food supplement notifications — reflecting an approach oriented toward society and the market, not just “academia.”
• In 2025, the institution marks 25 years of existence in its current form. This anniversary represents both a celebration of its institutional legacy and a moment of reflection on the role IBA plays today and in the future of Romania’s agriculture and food industry.
• Also in 2025, IBA continues its efforts toward “Food Safety First” — the online conference/event dedicated to food safety, sustainability, and scientific cooperation at the European level, signaling the institution’s commitment to quality standards and international dialogue.

Who is Nastasia Belc and what she brings

Nastasia Belc leads IBA Bucharest as General Director. But her role goes far beyond administration — she is a top researcher (PhD, senior scientist), a lecturer at the Faculty of Biotechnologies, and a member of key bodies involved in food safety, accreditation, research, and environmental and food policies. Moreover, she is actively involved at the European level — through participation in international initiatives and consortia focused on food security, sustainable food systems, agricultural adaptation to climate change, nutrition, and public health.

Under her leadership, IBA is not merely a “research institution,” but a communicator between science, industry, and society — a bridge designed to transform scientific knowledge into products, services, and sound policies that are relevant and practical for both consumers and producers.

“You can have performance without passion, but not true change” — a motto that defines leadership

The belief that food research and innovation are not just about numbers, technologies, or standards, but about people — consumers, communities, the environment, the future. IBA Bucharest, under the leadership of Nastasia Belc, promotes values such as responsibility, innovation, and performance — but above all, a belief in people.

Although “performance without passion” may exist — meaning you can conduct research, comply with standards, produce reports — real, lasting change at the level of the food system does not happen without vision, passion, and commitment. The decades-long career of Nastasia Belc — spanning research, education, administration, and international collaboration — reflects precisely this vision: a gradual yet real transformation, with tangible impact.

Conclusion: Why IBA 2025 + Nastasia Belc matter for Romania and Europe

• IBA Bucharest — with its infrastructure, expertise, and portfolio — is one of the key pillars of food safety, healthy nutrition, and food innovation in Romania.
• In the current context — climate change, globalization, and rising demands for food quality and safety — the need for institutions like IBA is vital.
• The leadership of Nastasia Belc brings a human and strategic dimension: not research for the sake of research, but research for society, for public health, for sustainability.
• The motto “You can have performance without passion, but not true change” becomes a call — to institutions, researchers, authorities, and consumers — to aim not only for efficiency, but for real transformation.