Vertical farming: the importance of multidisciplinary collaborations, crucial in the academic world, intersect with innovative agronomic practices to the benefit of health and quality of life. Without forgetting the need for almost continuous research, as underlined by Andrea Primavera, President of Fippo (Italian Federation of Official Plant Producers). It is around these concepts that the conference “Let’s shed light on medicinal plants: Experience of indoor cultivation and applications in the pharmaceutical sector” was developed, conducted by Repubblica journalist Rosaria Amato within the Spices&Herbs Global Expo, dedicated to medicinal plants, herbs and spices.
Promoted by the Department of Agro-food Sciences and Technologies of the University of Bologna (Agricultural Engineering Team – Structures and Environment), the event brought together the world of university research and its young professors together with the entrepreneurial one in direct application in protected field, concluding the conference with a guided tour of real small farms, suitable for the creation of home vegetable gardens. The event focused precisely on this area of application in relation to the results that research is obtaining, regarding the possibility of increasing yields through ad hoc bio-engineered cultivation systems as in the case of specific light recipes for each crop ( carried out for example on Madagascar Periwinkle, Coleus and Taus Baccata).
Prof Daniele Torreggiani of the Department of Agro-food Sciences and Technologies of the University of Bologna, among the organizers of the event, explained how the sector of indoor cultivation of medicinal and medicinal plants through artificial lighting systems represents an opportunity in capable of unlocking powerful synergies at the supply chain level, involving both growers and companies that provide technological solutions, systems and equipment for the sector, up to those for the transformation of personal care products.
It was Dr. Alessandro Quadri’s turn to illustrate the main results obtained by the team of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Laboratory of the Department of Agri-food Sciences and Technologies of the University of Bologna, as part of research carried out in collaboration with other colleagues from the department and with other departments of the University of Bologna which have made it possible to obtain increases in the yield of these compounds compared to both open field cultivation and indoor cultivation with conventional lights. The lever used in the experiments conducted is in fact constituted by a modulation of both intensity and quality of the LED light which is also used in combination with other innovative biostimulation systems.
Followed by Dr. Michele Protti, from the Pharmaco-Toxicological Analysis Laboratory of the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology of the University of Bologna, a laboratory that collaborates with the agricultural engineering team in the research mentioned above, focused attention on the implications that such innovative cultivation systems can have for pharmaceutical companies and beyond.
The program was completed by the testimonies of two important companies in the sector: Massimo Lucchini of Idromeccanica Lucchini, who recalled how we arrived at Cultipharm, today a 6,000 square meter park, starting at the time of Expo in 2015 with the first Italian vertical greenhouse . Vincenzo Spaccapeli of Eatour demonstrated how we are moving from the paradigm of the “outside home” vegetable garden to the domestic vegetable garden, within reach of every space, presenting ‘live’ a modular indoor cultivation solution for the production of medicinal plants.
Fresh-cut and advanced fresh-cut products: technological strategies for process/product innovation.
In the first appointment of the day at the Innovation Hub for Healthy food exhibition, fresh-cut products were examined. Fourth range products consist of fruit and vegetables and in general, fresh vegetables, packaged and ready for consumption. Out of 100 people who shop this category, more than half are not fond of any particular brand. Some are more recognizable but for the most part there is no awareness of the brands. This scenario is also influenced by the high market share of private labels, which exceeds 50% in super and hyper markets, and 70% in discount markets.
According to the data that emerged at the conference “Four-range and advanced fresh-cut products: technological strategies for product innovation”, out of 100 people who pass through the fruit and vegetable department, only nine stop in the fresh-cut refrigerators to make a purchase.
“Faced with this loss of ground – said Giancarlo Colelli, DAFNE University of Foggia, – important communication work is needed based only on some of the product’s pluses such as, for example, the sustainability of the packaging or the freshness of the product. But research has made great strides, arriving, for example, with spectrometric images to establish the quality level, both in terms of freshness but also of nutritional intake, for example, of vitamin C, of the vegetables or fruit contained with the utmost precision”.
It is currently difficult for companies in difficulty to invest in both communication and research even if large projects financed by public institutions such as the MIUR and Masaf are underway which involve both public partners, such as research bodies, or private individuals. Among the most important are ‘Stay Fresh’, Pofacs (financed by the Miur), Quafety (financed by Masaf).
Among the latest frontiers: the identification of genetic markers capable of providing information on product quality, unconventional packaging with a controlled atmosphere, increasingly rapid identification of the presence of any pathogens, entry into the supply chain of fresh-cut processing of new vegetables, treatments thermal plants to increase the nutritional and organoleptic quality as well as the safety of salads or, again, use nano-encapsulated natural ingredients to reduce the microbial load in freshly harvested material.
Innovative studies come from the University of Bologna for both the conservation and stabilization of fresh-cut products in a controlled atmosphere. “We are working on innovative molecules – explains Giulio Giannini, Industrial Doctoral Student, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna who is working on applied research with Agribologna on fresh-cut avocado –. Among those being tested are, for example, melatonin which is able to modulate the senescence of the product, glutathione which is able to control the antioxidant activity, the introduction of Kojic acid (chelating copper) in the packaging polymers or vanillin as an antimicrobial. For packaging, coats are being studied, i.e. adherent coatings, which are in turn edible, which reduce water waste, promote product transpiration and control the respiration rate, as well as offering the possibility of encapsulating active molecules with an antimicrobial function. and antioxidant”. From the University of Bologna comes a new method of sanitizing fresh-cut products that uses cold plasma to replace chemical agents.
One of the companies that is applying the latest frontiers of innovation is Gulftech which has already introduced artificial intelligence, in product quality work, and robotics in its calibration and selection process. “We have also revolutionized the fresh-cut vegetable washing system – said Alessandro Turatti, manager of the US company – with the aim of saving water and using sanitizing alternatives to chlorine such as ultrasound or spray washing”.
Cocktail & Ice Cream by Roberto Leoni botanical ice cream maker
The versatility, taste and vibrant organoleptic tone of the world of spices and aromatic herbs met, at Macfrut, with one of the symbols of gastronomic Made in Italy: ice cream. A meeting made possible thanks to the artisanal flair of master ice cream maker Roberto Leoni. In the space of the Rimini fair, dedicated to the Spices & Herbes world, the ice cream botanist from Cesena presented his creations during a special cooking show.
“Thanks to the use of innovations in the world of spices launched by Cannamela – says the ice cream maker from Romagna – I wanted to think of and prepare two new and particular types of ice cream. The first made with white melon, which among other things I produce on my farm, with a nigella flavored tea all enriched by the crunch given by the seeds of this appetizing flower. The second is a peach ice cream, also produced in my crops, with hibiscus tea and a sprinkling of Sichuan pepper”. An imaginative, imaginative and artisanal approach “which finds true added value in the creation of new flavours, captivating and exotic combinations – continues Leoni –. This is possible thanks to raw materials that are still too little known but which absolutely know how to enhance flavors and combinations even if they are not so immediate and everyday”. At Macfrut, therefore, the essence of nature becomes taste “with an approach – underlines Leoni again – which intends to respect the raw material by trying to enhance it through a continuous search for ever new combinations”. Everything was also accompanied by the creations, also imaginative and very particular, of the art of mixology, of drinks prepared using the same spices and botanicals.
Events 9 May: institutional and in the Salons
The second day full of events is Thursday 9 May which opens with the World Table Grape Symposium which puts the spotlight on market trends and production trends, involving the world’s top buyers in the Macfrut Table Grape Global player.
The Spices&Herbs Global Expo opens with the XI Fippo Forum, the international forum that attracts producers of medicinal plants from all over the world. In the show cooking arena of the Show, the exhibitors are the protagonists with experiences from all over the world: 10am Mali and Burkina Faso with Moringa & Shea Butter; 12pm South America in collaboration with Pro Ecuador; 2pm Fippo (Italian Federation of Officinal Plant Producers), curated by Bettina in cucina and Roberto Leoni; 3pm always Bettina in the kitchen with Amdie’s proposals from Morocco; 4pm proposals from Kenya by Africa Food Academy; at 5pm aromatic aperitif from Erboristeria Liquoreria Sarandrea in Collepardo.
At 9.30 the nursery hall hosts the second day of the International Rootsocks Symposium, while at 10.30 the Biosolutions international congress begins on the theme ‘Which biosolutions for quality cherries?’.
Regarding international events, at 11am Cassa Depositi e Prestiti presents “Initiatives and tools for the development of international partnerships in the fruit and vegetable and agribusiness sector: focus on Africa”, while at 12.30pm “Presentation of the agricultural transformation programme. An opportunity to strengthen the beneficial partnership between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Italy.”
Two appointments in the Agrivoltaic Exhibition: “Agrivoltaics, reference framework, critical issues, perspectives, practical experiences” at 11.30 am and “Agrivoltaics meets fruit and vegetables” at 2.30 pm.
There are four events in the Healthy Food Salon: “Fresh juices: emerging non-thermal stabilisation/functionalisation treatments” (10am); “The multi-university system for agri-food training in Emilia Romagna” (12pm); . “Too much of a good thing? The role of marketing standards in the generation and prevention of food waste” (1.30 pm); “Fruit and vegetable snacks: combined technologies for quality improvement and product innovation” (3pm).
At 3.30 pm Ismea kicks off the General States of Italian Nuts, a fundamental stage of the institutional campaign “Nuts. Italy is inside”.
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