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News

Innovation, sustainability, medical research, ethics, PGI: some ANICAV projects

01/06/2021 - Press release , François-Xavier Branthôme - Lire en français

With over 100 member companies, the ANICAV is the largest association representing tomato processing operators in the world, in terms of membership numbers and quantity of processed products.
Founded in 1945 with the aim of protecting the interests of the vegetable canning industry and achieving organizational autonomy in the sector, it aims to support member companies, promote and regulate industrial and productive development in the sector, while encouraging collaboration among its members.

The trade press asked ANICAV director Giovanni De Angelis what actions are currently underway and what are the organization's future objectives.

In recent years, the ANICAV has worked intensively to consolidate the reputation of the sector, both nationally and internationally, by acting on the dissemination throughout the industry of a new corporate culture in the field of social responsibility.

It is essential to be able to communicate the “positive aspects” of the industry to consumers. Traceability, ethics, environmental sustainability, quality and health standards are the driving factors on which we must focus. The aim must be to “separate” tomatoes from the concept of low-cost products, focusing on informing and training consumers in terms of their awareness, their willingness to pay a higher price for their own welfare and the welfare of future generations of consumers, in order to recognize the efforts made by the industry in the field of ethical and environmental sustainability.

On the international markets, we are carrying out three promotion projects that are co-funded by the EU: one aimed at the American market and one at the Asian market, with the latter of these focusing on China, South Korea and Japan. The main objective is to inform buyers regarding the consumption of tomato products and to increase and consolidate exports in these sectors.

Both projects aim to support member companies in the process of enhancing the value of Italian tomatoes and promoting them throughout the world. Lasting until 2022, the projects include, among others focal points, participation in industry exhibitions, sponsorship of events related to the world of food, tasting events in specially selected restaurants in major cities of target countries, promotional activities via social media and organizing press tours in Italy for journalists and bloggers.

The third project concerns the promotion of canned legumes or pulses produced by Italian processing companies, with the purpose of adding value to the category; it is aimed at countries like Australia and the United Arab Emirates and will be developed over three years, from 2021 to 2023.

These programs will be complemented by the ANICAV / Consorzio del pomodoro San Marzano PDO project which aims to promote the PDO, with actions implemented in synergy with the three-year ANICAV program targeting the United States, where the recurring problem of “Italian sounding” terms damages the reputation of our products and deprives us of economic resources. In fact, we regularly lose market share to other countries that offer products with “an Italian connotation”, but for which neither the production region nor the tomatoes themselves are Italian.

In June 2020, we set up a product section specifically dedicated to organic tomatoes, to deal with the significant growth that organic production continues to record over the years, driven by the increase in consumption both on the domestic market and abroad. In Italy, in particular, over the last three years, growth has been recorded at around 15%, with an increase in value exceeding 20%, demonstrating the interest that consumers have for this type of product.

Besides tomatoes, what products do ANICAV member companies process, and in what quantities?
ANICAV members also process products other than tomatoes: ANICAV-affiliated companies deal with more than 70% of the tomatoes processed in Italy and produce more than 50% of the countries canned legumes or pulses.
In 2020, the turnover of the entire canned tomato and legume production sector was EUR 4.7 billion, more than 70% of which was produced by companies associated with the ANICAV.

How important is innovation for ANICAV companies?
Tomato processing companies are constantly implementing process innovations aimed at guaranteeing and improving the safety and quality of their products, as well as protecting the environment by reducing waste and inefficiency in the use of energy and water.
In terms of product innovations, there is a constant search for the development of new recipes, in particular for ready-to-use sauces, in order to satisfy the tastes of consumers. Much attention is also paid to packaging: although for more than 150 years the most frequent container for tomato products has remained tinplate – which can be completely and practically infinitely recycled – some companies are starting to use newer materials such as multilayer compounds (generally polyethylene, aluminum and cardboard) for some of their productions.

How much attention is paid to sustainability?
In terms of ethical sustainability, it must be remembered that our sector has been improperly accused for years each time the issue of illegal hiring has been brought up, whereas this practice concerns the agricultural world as a whole and the processing tomato harvest is almost exclusively carried out by machine. in recent years, the ANICAV has provided opportunities for dialogue between all stakeholders, companies, agricultural professional organizations, industrial associations, mass distribution operators, unions and institutions, because we are convinced that only the involvement and empowerment of everyone will make it possible to find a solution to the problem, by working on two fronts: raising the awareness of all parties involved by sharing the problem between the different levels of representation, and consulting with national and regional institutions.
On these questions, we are committed, along with the Ministries of the Interior and of Agricultural Policies, as partners of the “Fi.Le. – Filiera Legale” within the framework of the “Legality PON” (Programma Operativo Nazionale Legalità). This plan is coordinated by the Italian telematic commodity exchange (Unioncamere, province of Foggia) and aims to promote legal practices in the processing tomato sector, through the creation of a platform that will provide law enforcement agencies with information for controlling the legality of operations and guaranteeing operators in the sector the telematic management of job offers and associated transport services.
Based on the experience acquired over the years with the remote observation system by satellite of cultivated hectares in the Central South Basin, the ANICAV offers the possibility of monitoring the maturity level of crops in order to know in advance where and when the workforce will be needed, thus facilitating the organization of transport and housing solutions.
In addition, with a partner company specializing in advanced digital solutions for the “smart food industry”, we are implementing an experimental project called “Tomato Blockchain” which, through the use of blockchain technology, aims to improve the production of quality tomatoes and guarantee the origin, safety and social values that should be passed on to the final consumer, certifying all stages of production and processing.
In the environmental field, climate change, the question of energy use and issues related to the theme of sustainable development are at the heart of the tomato processing industry's approach, which has implemented a series of virtuous behaviors aimed at responsibly safeguarding the territory and the environment. Our companies, while managing production processes with low environmental impact that do not generate toxic or harmful pollutants, are committed to reducing waste and loss of energy and water by investing in process innovations aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, as well as by recycling water, reducing the volume of waste and improving its recovery processes, and using recyclable packaging according to the principles of the circular economy.

The ANICAV supports research in the medical field, in collaboration with the Veronesi Foundation, to finance studies on cancer in the pediatric field. What is your part in this?
Our association, and in particular our Young Entrepreneurs Group, has always been involved in social initiatives. Four years ago, with this in mind, we imagined the set-up of a project that on the one hand would raise awareness of the health properties of our tomatoes, unanimously recognized by the scientific community, and on the other hand could satisfy our desire to make a serious and concrete contribution to scientific research. So a collaboration with the Umberto Veronesi Foundation – which welcomed our proposal with enthusiasm – and a partnership with the Ricrea Consortium led to the setup of the project “Il Pomodoro: good for you, good for research” in 2018, aimed at collecting funds intended for scientific research in the field of pediatric oncology.

How did the idea of a PGI for canned peeled tomatoes come about, and why the reference to Naples?
Over the last decades, the consumption of whole-peeled tomatoes has lost a lot of market share (around 10% each year) both in Italy and abroad, where the problem of “Italian sounding” products is a major issue. It became necessary to carry out actions to promote and support this product.

With this in mind, a process of recognition for a “protected geographical indication” was launched to protect whole-peeled tomatoes, by highlighting the particular and distinctive characteristics of these products that are exclusive to the region of southern Italy.

On 13 March 2021, after a long preliminary phase of consultation, the Ministry published in the Official Journal the production regulations of the PGI Pomodoro Pelato di Napoli, which must be followed by the notification of an application for recognition submitted to the competent Community agencies for registration, in accordance with Article 49 of (EU) Regulation no. 1151/2012.

The PGI request for Neapolitan peeled tomatoes, as evidenced by the specifications, does not concern the raw material but applies to the finished product processed in the regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Campania, Molise and Apulia.

It should be emphasized that the denomination “Neapolitan” or “Naples” is not the result of an arbitrary decision or of choices dictated by the imagination. This name is the only one that complies with the requirement of historicity linked to consolidated use in the context of trade or in common language, required by the implementing decree of EU regulation 1151/2012, and is not only based on an acquired and recognized reputation of the product in the markets, where peeled tomatoes are closely linked to Naples, but also on the many descriptive labels used over time by different producers for products that are often shipped abroad.

Obviously, “Naples” should not be “understood” as the city, but as a symbol of the Italian Mezzogiorno and the potential it holds, as a philosophy and lifestyle typical of the regions of the South-Central basin. All over the world, it is sufficient to mention southern Italy, and the reference to Naples comes as the highest expression of this territory.

What can we expect in terms of revaluing for this product thanks to the PGI?
The recognition of a PGI for peeled tomatoes could drive consumption growth and market recovery, bringing benefits for the industrial sector as well as for the agricultural production of oblong processing tomatoes.
Although the PGI refers to the finished product, the raw material must necessarily come from production areas close to the processing plants in order to be able to be processed no later than 24 hours after harvest. These required conditions naturally benefit regions that are historically adapted to the cultivation of elongated or oblong varieties, in particular the province of Foggia, which will certainly benefit from the recognition.

What do tomato growers feel about all this?
Today, a large part of the tomato growers concerned are in favor of the request for recognition, aware of the indisputable benefits that this can bring to the agricultural sector, as well as to the processing sector. There are still some critical positions expressed by a number of Apulian growers who claim a greater “centrality” of the main production area – the province of Foggia – but which, we hope, can be overcome in the exclusive interest of the industry as a whole.

Note: A committee for the promotion of the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) “Pomodoro di Puglia” was set up mid-May at the initiative of Coldiretti Foggia, to support the application for registration of a PDO with the EU, with the intention of protecting the production and processing of the Apulian oblong tomatoes and strengthening the formal opposition to the MIPAAF production specifications published in the Official Journal on 13 March for the recognition of the "Pomodoro Pelato di Napoli" PGI.

“It is not acceptable for a product bearing such a distinctive Community mark to be distributed without there being an obligation to use tomatoes from the territory to which the indication refers. 40% of Italian tomatoes come from the Capitanata which alone produces 90% of oblong tomatoes,” explains Pietro Piccioni, confederal delegate of Coldiretti Foggia.

Source: Italian Food News, ilsipontino.net

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