It is our pleasure to welcome you to the 62nd International Meat Industry Conference (MEATCON2023) to be held at Mt. Kopaonik, Serbia, on October 1-4 2023, traditionally hosted by the Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia.

For many years, this Conference has been the converging point for food/feed scientists, experts from the industry and legislation sphere, members of the professional associations, and other entities striving towards a common goal: EXPLORING CURRENT CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES IN FOOD AND NUTRITION. The rapid development of scientific and technological research in the areas of food/feed technology, safety, quality, regulatory, environmental, and numerous other fields imposed the necessity for a synthetic approach to food-related challenges. Such an approach is primarily governed by understanding the complexity of food science that is taking place within the scientific community for the past two decades. Hence our commitment to the multidisciplinary nature of the Conference.

This three-day gathering will try to maintain its holistic character, presenting the latest research in food and feed production and technology, quality and safety issues, risk-assessment, consumer-related concerns, governmental actions, and strategies – with more than 100 contributions submitted for publication. Each paper has been peer-reviewed through a rigorous process that included conference committee members and international reviewers, and an English language editorial service. We are excited to publish all the contributions to the Conference, hoping that its contents shall be helpful to Conference participants and other interested readers. Some of selected paper will be published in Meat Science (ISSN 0309-1740) and others in the Journal “Meat Technology- Special Issue” (indexed in the SCOPUS database) by the Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology.

The 62nd International Meat Industry Conference also provides the opportunity for fellow scientists to meet, exchange experiences, and perhaps agree on future joint scientific endeavours. Carefully selected speakers from Serbia and abroad will present their latest research through plenary lectures, invited lectures on specific topics, and poster presentations. Conference Programme will include Feed Section. Also, students will have opportunity to present their papers. The best student’s oral presentations will be awarded.

The Conference has been supported by: Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia – Veterinary Directorate and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia. Co-organizers of the Conference are the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, and Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad.

We inform participants with a veterinary license that Veterinary Chamber of Serbia accredited the 62^nd International Meat Industry Conference with 10 points for 3 days of participation.

We look forward welcoming you at Mt. Kopaonik hoping you will enjoy your stay here and acquired knowledge to be useful.