The Qualivita Foundation successfully closed “Italia Next DOP – 1st Scientific Symposium on PDO PGI supply chains”, the first national initiative to disseminate scientific research on PDO and PGI supply chains. The event took place in Rome, at the Auditorium della Tecnica, on 22nd February 2023: it was organised with founding partners Origin Italia, CSQA Certificazioni, Agroqualità, Poligrafico and Zecca dello Stato in the presence of the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida.
More than 800 stakeholders attended six scientific sessions and the presentation of 90 research projects on Italian PDOs and PGIs, a selection of the agro-food scientific corpus on PGIs traced by Qualivita – including 200 ongoing studies and 18,000 bibliographical references. “Investing in research means aiming to increase competitiveness and sustainability. 225 million euros (source: Budget Law) target innovation, which should become the ally of the great Italian food and wine tradition. The spirit of collaboration which animates today’s event is fundamental for sharing proposals on the Italian system – increasingly performing on international markets, which are craving for Made in Italy,’ said the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida, concluding the Symposium.
50 papers displayed the innovative spirit of the sector and possible developments, this being the case of the paper by Prof. Luigi Lucini of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Piacenza – Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Department of Food Science and Technology. The ‘Artificial Intelligence to Protect the Origin and Authenticity of Riviera Ligure PDO Olive Oil’ project was presented at the desk of the Consortium for the Protection of Riviera Ligure Olive Oil.
“The Symposium confirmed the importance of both PDOs/PGIs and Protection Consortia, which, together with national Universities and Centres of Excellence, put forward guidelines for the development and the protection of our agro-food heritage. A coordinated strategy for the entire quality production system is becoming increasingly necessary in order to face the challenges of sustainability in its three different declinations: environmental, social and economic. As far as sustainability is concerned, our region’s PDO olive oil supply chain will be able to play a leading role in the steering tables set by institutions and companies. We thank the Qualivita Foundation for this moment of discussion and dissemination,’ says Carlo Siffredi, President of the Consortium for the Protection of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil Riviera Ligure PDO.
