There was an intensive exchange between the Minister and PLANTON's Managing Director, Prof. Dr. Michael Kleine, on the technical and analytical possibilities for testing organically produced food and feed. Minister Schwarz was particularly interested in the precision and sensitivity with which these materials can be analyzed and tested.

In addition, Professor Kleine expounded upon a study on the soil microbiome that had recently been published in Nature Communications. This study had been conducted by PLANTON in collaboration with Kiel University as a technical partner. Soil health, which can be determined by characterizing the microbial flora using the molecular genetic method of NGS (Next Generation Sequencing), is a decisive factor for resilient and healthy agriculture. Professor Kleine then extended an invitation to Minister Schwarz to visit PLANTON's new laboratory centre in Kiel, with the aim of providing him with an in-depth presentation of this technology and other PLANTON processes. Minister Schwarz gratefully accepted the invitation.