At the end of the year it is always results time and for the Italian food industry it can be considered satisfactory, despite the difficult period of economic crisis that is involving the European area and also the countries that are at the top of the world, such as the U.S.A. And this, despite continuous plagiarism of Made in Italy food that takes place constantly, at all levels and in all parts of the world with a turnover of 60 billion Euros, potentially stolen from Italy. It is an economic amount that touches 50% national food sales (130 billion Euros) and that largely exceeds twice the turnover of exported products (25 billion €). Even industrialized countries, such as the United States and Australia, and the countries of the European Union, which should, instead, be the first to avoid counterfeiting, respecting the EU rules, sell counterfeited products, passing them off as Italian. Sensational episodes of seizure of plagiarized goods occurred even within the largest European fair of the sector such as ANUGA, held in Cologne (Germany) last October. The good moment of the Italian industry is confirmed by the numbers of exports that are steeply rising, compared to last year. In the first half of 2013 there has been constant growth in all countries. More contained in Europe (about +5%), well in the U.S.A and Canada (over +9%), very good towards emerging countries, in which export percentage variations are rising between 20 and 30%, and around 50% highpoints. The good moment of the Italian food industry is also confirmed by its presence at the ANUGA fair in Cologne where there were 1700 national companies. More than that, during the event in Germany also the Eco-Trophelia Europe competition took place, only for national teams, made up of University students of the main European countries. Each team presented an innovative and sustainable food, specifically and fully developed: from the choice of raw materials, to production process and packaging, from cost analysis to business plan development. In this context Italy with its own team called “I Croccanti” (winner of the Italian national selection) and made up of five students (Sara De Cesare, Michela Dioni, Tommaso Mastrofilippo, David Quadrelli and Rebecca Rizzi) of the Degree Course in Food Science and Technology of the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in Piacenza, led by researcher Roberta Dordoni, brought Italy on the podium. I Croccanti got an excellent third place, behind the teams of France and Holland, and before other 15 teams from as many countries. The Italian product, named SOcrock for the competition (low-calorie bar containing grape pips and sorghum), has obtained great success, so much so that its production and marketing has already been requested in combination between an Italian and a German company. The product, which has high degree of innovation and sustainability, has shown that the future belongs to youngsters that will bring new ideas throughout the world and assure positive results to Italian food also for the future.
by Dante Marco De Faveri