Food safety, eco-friendly packaging, and virtual reality: Cibus Tec will showcase hundreds of advancements in the food technology industry.

Cibus Tec retains its standing as one of the global food technology events that pays close attention to innovation and the issues that the industry will face in the future. With this particular focus, the fair is able to bring together a broad spectrum of the best solutions for the food and beverage industry, including cutting-edge beverage filling systems, automation solutions, laboratory equipment, and, last but not least, intralogistics. The newest advancements in flavours and ingredients round out the portfolio.

The exhibition's richness serves as proof of the Italian industry's outstanding standing in this field. The fact that our nation is among the top exporters in both Europe and the entire globe is no accident. With the assistance of Nomisma, the Machinery Observatory Cibus Tec for Food & Beverage conducted an investigation which reveals that the industrial sector with the highest export vocation is machinery for the food and beverage industry, making up 16% of all manufacturing exports. Furthermore, compared to the same period in 2022, food and beverage machinery exports increased by 20.6% in the first quarter of 2023, totaling 1,985 million euros.

Creative and Eco-Friendly Packaging

One of the most talked-about issues in the food business (as well as many other industrial sectors) these days is packaging's future, in part because of its apparent environmental repercussions and also because consumers are becoming more and more aware of the issue. A number of advances in this field include GOGLIO's new aseptic and environmentally friendly packaging (Hall 5, Booth B018): This specific invention, which is composed of an entirely recyclable EVOH coextruded laminate and mono-PE multilayer material, enables products to be processed at

without preservatives, at room temperature, and maintaining their qualities for an extended period of time. In addition, it doesn't need to be refrigerated, which saves a lot of electricity. Conversely, BMB (Hall 2 – Booth F049) has created a ground-breaking solution that, by utilising the principles of bell packing, triples the pace at which products are packaged while ensuring that all packages have an oxygen remnant of less than 0.01%, which is an absolute guarantee of quality and processing safety.

Offering a 100% eco-friendly solution, the ecological jewel from RLCONSULTING (Hall 2 – Booth I037) is a new stretchable paper film that can expand up to 40%. The paper composition is totally FSC-certified.

food preparation

The advances in food processing shown at Cibus Tec are all connected by the concept of process efficiency. There are machines on display that, among other things, enable the autonomous production of stretched-curd cheeses (IANNELLO INOX, Hall 6 – Booth K030) or the fully automatic production of up to 2100 burratas per hour (MOZZAMATIC, Hall 6 – Booth H012). The CookTymix® innovation, on display at MTS (Hall 6 – Booth B066), is centred upon enhancing industrial performance. It is a novel cooking system that uses cutting-edge heat conduction techniques to cut execution times by 55%. The typical processes of food transformation supply chains are also heavily reliant on digitalization. One example of this is the software TRACK, created by ZUFFELLATO TECHNOLIGIES (Hall 2 – Booth M034), which gives complete control over the entire production line while adhering to food regulations. IMPRIMA (Hall 2-Booth M034), riding a subject close to the heart of the most tech-savvy audience, has turned a basic label into an advanced hi-tech identification system linked to several digital contents.

Food Safety and Quality Assurance

Reducing non-compliance reports is one of the operational areas that food firms are concentrating on more and more in an effort to reduce recalls and withdrawals. Because of this, Cibus Tec 2023 will showcase advancements in food safety and quality control, such the cutting-edge computerised tomography equipment that BIOMETIC (Hall 2 – Booth K044) will be showcasing. With the use of this equipment, packaging may be imaged in real time in 360 degrees, allowing for the verification of factors like integrity, fill level, and the presence of contaminants (such glass particles) during the production line. Similarly, GHERRI MEAT TECHNOLOGY (Hall 6 – Booth C030) showcases one of the most sophisticated systems for identifying foreign objects, even those with low density (metals, light impurities, and bones), which are typically hard to discern using conventional X-ray examination methods.

Environmental responsibility, green solutions, and the circular economy

Green topics come together at Cibus Tec in a very rich subject area with innovations that have significant socio-environmental repercussions and try to lessen impacts or reintroduce waste products into the manufacturing cycle. Based on these ideas, CLAUGER-TECHNOFRIGO's (Hall 6 – Booth I012) invention seeks to recover waste heat from industrial operations. The goal is to harness the energy from hot process emissions to create high-temperature water, which can be used for a variety of tasks. This will decarbonize the industrial site and save energy by lowering the need for fossil fuels (diesel and petrol). Aware of the harm that conventional refrigeration systems do to the environment, ZUDEK (Hall 6 – Booth H042) provides the Biomatik machine, which breaks down waste used to produce biogas to produce food-grade CO2.

In fact, a major theme in a lot of product advancements is energy. A prime example of this is KIEPE ELECTRIC (Hall 3 – Booth C031), which guarantees businesses up to 80% electricity savings with the innovative QUANTM pump.

Components and Tastes

The realm of ingredients and flavours is another area of food technology where innovation is present. This sector has a greater influence on the final product's taste and aroma than any other. Among the novelties is CHR HANSEN's (Hall 6 – Booth K 054) unique line of Yoflex® Premium cultures, which helps satisfy consumers' increasing desire for creamier yoghurt while minimising the use of unnecessary substances and additives and maximising the usage of raw materials. Using strains of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus enhances the product's nutritional profile and lowers the amount of added sugar in yoghurt. The creation from Novara-based HEDESSENT (Hall 3 – Booth G050) takes guests straight to the Far East with its natural Yuzu flavour, which replicates the authenticity and freshness of the Asian citrus fruit that is the result of a mandarin and papeda hybrid. Very adaptable, Yuzu flavour brings out the citrus's crispness and adds a touch of flowery character.

Undoubtedly, one of the most well-liked developments to advance industrial mechanics is the use of digital solutions. In keeping with the event's extremely inventive theme, Cibus Tec debuts the Cibus Tec Digital Factory, a digital representation of Food Factory 5.0 built on 40Factory technology that allows guests to engage with digital solutions via headsets. These technologies, which simplify maintenance and training procedures, increase production sustainability, optimise production efficiency, and open up new post-sales revenue models for machine manufacturers, include Industrial IoT (Internet of Things), VR (Virtual Reality), and Artificial Intelligence.

Cibus Tec is still the best resource for information about the most significant "innovation incubators" in the food machinery industry in the 2023 edition. Reopening in Hall 4, the Start-up Arena is presented by CA Parma, Eatable Adventures, and Agenzia ICE in association with Le Village. A selection of several dozen startups showcase the most intriguing technologies and applications used in the industry. Among these is the proprietary EcoPoD technology from COMPOPACK, which is devoted to the roasting industry and focuses on researching and implementing manufacturing methods that drastically lower the environmental impact of coffee packaging (in capsules or pods). The startup COOKI offers innovative software that addresses food safety and intolerances. After a recipe is typed and components are chosen from a large database, the programme determines allergies, computes nutritional values, and even estimates food expenses. Conversely, HEALLO is founded on the straightforward tenet that "everything needed is already in nature; one just needs to know how to valorize it." Natural biotechnology allows HEALLO to create novel, highly nutraceutical foods and supplements by making chemicals, fibres, and compounds found in nature available.

AREAS OF DEMO

With the intention of displaying whole manufacturing and packaging lines in operation, Cibus Tec was also the first trade exhibition in the industry to provide the Live Demo Areas model. Three highly automated lines that are used to portion and package cheese, make and package "pinse" and other baked goods, and package Doypack "product-saving" bags will be replicated in Hall 2 of the 2023 version. These lines are arranged in association with MH Material Handling, Pentavac, PFM, Satech, Siad, Staubli, Veripack, Gelmini, Innova, Ilpra, L.M., Macs, Ametek, Bilanciai Campogalliano, Ceia, Faber, Fritsch Bakery Technologies, and MH Vision Group.

GLOBALISATION AND EXPORT

With the help of the Emilia-Romagna Region and ICE Agenzia, Cibus Tec 2023 will welcome over 3,000 Top Buyers from food and beverage industries from more than 60 countries. Operators from the food and beverage sector in Africa (representing 16 nations) make up 15% of the total. These business travellers work for major industrial conglomerates including ABC Pepsi, Poulina Group, RFG Foods, Saida Group, and Zambeef in addition to medium-sized businesses.

Cibus Tec has also been chosen as a stop on the E4I Business Networking Week, a training programme, B2B initiatives, and networking that will bring 40 African operators with technology and innovative solutions investment projects to Parma, thanks to the partnership with the E4Impact Foundation (ALTIS – High Business School of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart). Africa is predicted to become the primary force behind global development by 2100, having risen to the position of second on the planet in terms of economic growth. Its GDP is now growing faster than the world average. Specifically, despite a minor slowdown in export growth in the first few months of 2023 compared to 2022, an analysis of data from the Machinery Observatory for Food & Beverage Cibus Tec reveals substantial growth opportunities for commercial partnerships across the continent. The upward trajectory of countries like Algeria, South Africa, Tunisia, and Ivory Coast, which are going through a period of strong development, shows that the geopolitical scenarios and conjunctural conditions that underlie this event have not diminished Africa's enormous potential.