Press release
, François-Xavier Branthôme
The OI Pomodoro da Industria del Nord Italia is present at Sial (19 - 23 October 2024) in Paris to improve and promote the environmental and social sustainability of Italian tomato products through the EU-funded two-year Tomato SAUCE project.
A delegation from the Interprofessional Organization of Processing Tomatoes of Northern Italy will participate in the International Food Show (SIAL) in Paris, to involve journalists, operators and opinion makers through illustration in the knowledge of the rigorous environmental and social sustainability standards that characterize the Italian production of industrial tomatoes and their derivatives. The initiative is part of the broader two-year project (2023-2025) entitled Tomato SAUCE - Sustainable Agriculture Understanding in Central Europe (https://oipomodoronorditalia.it/en/), funded by the European Union's Agrip call for tenders, which aims to raise awareness and promote in two target countries, Germany and France, the high environmental and social standard ensured by the certified production specifications used in the agricultural and industrial processing of processing tomatoes from northern Italy.
After participating in the Anuga 2023 fair in Germany, the OI Pomodoro Nord continued the activities planned by the project in 2024. It participated in the Cibus 2024 in Parma and produced the Truemato docu-series, five short films visible on the YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@OIPomodoro), which aim to reveal, with a holistic approach, the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the processing tomato supply chain in northern Italy, through the voices of the protagonists, filming in the fields and in the factories. At the beginning of September, the OI also organized a press tour attended by French and German journalists and food bloggers to meet directly in the field with farmers from Producer Organizations and representatives of the processing industry. An opportunity to allow guests to see with their own eyes how tomatoes are grown, harvested and processed in Northern Italy, the tools implemented to save water and the steps taken to reduce the carbon footprint, and thus understand the real added value of Italian tomato products.
By participating in the important French trade fair - where the OI member processing companies will also be present with their own stands - the OI Pomodoro da Industria Nord Italia pursues the objective of the Tomato SAUCE project: to raise consumer awareness of the high environmental standards applied to production methods in the EU, bridging the gap between attitudes and behaviors and promoting specific knowledge on the sustainability of the different phases of the life cycle of the "red preserves" produced in the industrial tomato chain of Northern Italy.
The 2024 harvest and processing campaign is not yet over, but it will certainly be a very poor year in terms of quantities produced in the northern Italian production basin where, in 2023, 39.6% of the tomatoes grown were destined for processing into pulp, 31.6% for tomato pastes, 27.4% for purees, 1.2% for ready-made sauces. Based on a specific European regulation, 10% of the areas are certified "organic", the remaining 90% benefit from the "integrated production" certification, a crop regulation system that provides for limited use of fertilizers, agrochemicals, water resources and, in general, the use of non-invasive agronomic techniques, so as to guarantee healthy products for humans and a reduced impact of crops on natural resources and the environment. Furthermore, tomato derivatives produced in Northern Italy come from agricultural raw materials harvested with fully mechanized systems and are subject to internationally recognized voluntary certifications in terms of social responsibility and respect for workers' rights.
France and Germany are the two target countries of the Tomato SAUCE project because they represent two important markets for Italian tomato products. Italy is by far the leading supplier of tomato derivatives to Germany, with a share of just under 60% in value for a turnover of 608 million euros, but it is also the leading exporter of tomato products to France, with a value of around 274 million euros and a share in value of over 46% (source: Eurostat, sum of values for customs codes 200210, 200290, 210320, year 2023).
Source: OI Pomodoro da industria del Nord Italia