Fiera Pastaria & Festival 2024, outstanding first edition of the new Pastaria event

Fiera Pastaria & Festival, the innovative event for the pasta supply chain born from the combination of the Pastaria Festival, the well-known and eagerly awaited conference event for professional training and refresher courses for operators, and Fiera Pastaria, the new trade fair that attracts the most important suppliers of machines, systems, ingredients and services for pasta production took place in Florence on 20 and 21 May. Many sector operators from all over the world took part.

The prestigious venue and original lay-out without doubt impressed everyone who entered Stazione Leopolda in Florence on 20 and 21 May to visit Fiera Pastaria & Festival, the new business-to-business event organised by the specialised magazine Pastaria.

What was once the first railway station in the Tuscan city, designed by architect Enrico Presenti and inaugurated in 1848, is now used as a venue for exclusive events. It was chosen to host Fiera Pastaria & Festival, the event held alongside the wide-ranging programme of conferences of the Pastaria Festival, now in its eighth edition and an annual appointment for pasta manufacturers, and the first edition of Fiera Pastaria, the new exhibition that brings together important international suppliers of machinery, systems, ingredients and services for pasta factories.

Over 500 operators from all parts of Italy and many foreign countries (including Algeria, Germany, Tunisia, Hong Kong, USA, Poland, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Albania, Croatia, India, Mexico, Russia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Morocco, Egypt, Hungary, Brazil, Jordan) visited Fiera Pastaria & Festival.

The Fiera Pastaria exhibition spaces

Pasta-yellow ribbons hanging from the ceiling and duct tape on the floor marked out the spaces used by dozens of leading companies in the sector to show off their new pasta-making technologies, ingredients and services; this original layout was the brainchild of Pastaria and its development was entrusted to the architects of Pitti Immagine (owner of Stazione Leopolda).

The aim of Fiera Pastaria – bringing together a wide range of suppliers of pasta factories, and only pasta factories, in a single exhibition – was already clear from event’s pay-off: International pasta factory suppliers trade fair.

The stands of process machine manufacturers were flanked by those of milling industries, spaces fitted out for aromas and semi-finished product suppliers, and other stands of manufacturers of packaging machines and accessories. The advantage of this set-up for the ideal visitor to Fiera Pastaria, i.e. pasta manufacturers, is clear: the possibility of finding everything the pasta production business needs, in all its possible forms, at a single, highly specialised and non-dispersive event.

Pasta Technologies Group, Sarp, Cepi and Colimatic were assigned and shared the largest stand at the show – over 200 square metres – where an imposing 7-metre high silo (Cepi), a large press (PTG), flanked by a spiral pasteuriser (Sarp), and a packaging line (Colimatic) for fresh pasta vied for attention.

The exhibition of forming machines and a packaging line for fresh pasta by ALMA Packing and Packaging Machinery, a flagship product of the well-known company from Cadorago (Como), was also highly appreciated.

Numerous machines of different types (from forming machines to pasta cookers) were also presented to the public by Italgi.

A world premier was, however, the presentation of the Direct Drive free-standing coil by Side Protech, launched at Fiera Pastaria.

The tasting proposed by Aromatagroup and Ipam, ingredient suppliers, was specially appreciated.

The other exhibitors at the first edition of Fiera Pastaria included:

Aldo Cozzi, ALMA Packing and Packaging Machinery, AromataGroup, Brambati, CEPI, Colimatic, Eurovo, Fava, Foodtech, Foss, GEA, IFT, Industria Molitoria Mininni, Ingrex, Ipam, Italgi, Key 360, Klüber Lubrication, Landucci Zamboni, La Parmigiana, LB Italia Engineering, Mane, MartinoRossi, Molini del Ponte, Molini Loizzo, Molino Borgioli, Molino De Vita, Molino Grassi, Multi Import, Niccolai Trafile, Omar, Omet Foodtech, Pasta Techonologies Group, Prodotti Gianni, Progeo Molini, Pro-Tech Italia, SIDE Protech, Sarp, Technobins.

The eighth edition of the Pastaria Festival

As always, the spirit of sharing know-how on pasta manufacturing, as the slogan says, was the inspiration for the Pastaria Festival 2024.

Two hundred seats in the auditorium, simultaneous translation into English of all the conferences and presentations, and a programme for the first time spread over two days characterised the eighth edition of the Pastaria Festival, which confirmed its standing as a reference point for information and professional refresher courses for pasta factory operators and suppliers.

Many universities took part in the conferences and researchers and lecturers illustrated the results to pasta factory operators of the most recent studies on pasta conducted at academic institutions over the last 18 months.

Finally, never before have so many companies taken part in the extensive Festival programme.

Indeed, there were two conferences (Advanced technologies and services for the production of pasta by Fava and An encounter of cultures in the world of pasta, organic and natural flavours: sustainable taste that conceals a memory by New Flavours), two presentations (Reflections on food safety: the role of lubricants and processing aids by Klüber Lubrication and Microwave oven pasteurisation: product innovation and environmental sustainability in fresh pasta by GEA), and a panel discussion (Vegetable proteins: sustainable approaches and emerging trends by MartinoRossi) organised by supplier companies sponsoring the event.

The following programme was offered on Monday 20 May.

Opening of the Pastaria Festival

Gherardo Bonetto (APPF), Margherita Mastromauro (Unione Italiana Food), Virna Soncin (APPAFRE), Lorenzo Pini (Pastaria), Claudio Zanão (ABIMAPI), Carl Zuanelli (IPO, NPA).

Advanced technologies and services for pasta production

Renato Dall’Agata (Fava), LPG 180 long pasta production technology

Alessio Marchesani (Fava), Fresh pasta: technologies and innovation

Federico Martini (Fava), IIOT applications to maximise overall equipment effectiveness (O.E.E.)

Alessia Lolli (Fava), Applied research services for product development and optimisation.

Moderator: Michele Storci (Fava).

Fava (Main sponsor of the Pastaria Festival) conference.

Reflections on food safety: the role of lubricants and processing aids

Speakers: Andrea Marotta (Klüber Lubrication), Federico Provenzani (Klüber Lubrication).

Klüber Lubrication presentation.

An encounter of cultures in the world of pasta, organic and natural flavours: sustainable taste that conceals a memory

Virginia Tonanni (New Flavours), Aromas in movement: understanding US and European labels. Different cultures and flavour trends. The new frontiers for successful pasta

Veronica Pero (New Flavours), Communicating business sustainability “without lies”, but by doing. Choices and consequences of greenwashing and greenblushing

Gianni Sagratini (University of Camerino), Samanta Corsetti (University of Camerino), Study and enhancement of bioactive compounds in natural aromas

Salvatore Pizzo (DNV Assurance Italy), The new frontiers of sustainability in food processing

Federica Di Candia (Itineri), Legù’s experience puts peasant food back on the table

Ciro Borrelli (4BMC), The QR code: pasta and aromas, much more than a simple link.

Moderator: Letizia Bellucci (New Flavours).

New Flavours conference.

Fresh pasta and innovative ingredients

Alessio Cimini (University of Tuscia), Use of malted legumes in the production of fresh pasta

Vladimiro Cardenia (University of Turin), New technological challenges to control cholesterol and its oxidation in tannins enriched egg pasta

Valeria Imeneo (University of Milan), Thermal treatment of legume flours used to make pasta.

Moderator: Cristina Alamprese (University of Milan).

Academic conference.

The Pastaria Festival offered the following programme on Tuesday 21 May.

Vegetable proteins: sustainable approaches and emerging trends

Matteo Angri (MartinoRossi), Francesco Barba (Barilla G. e R. F.lli), Alberto Cartasegna (Miscusi), Monica Maj (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Piacenza), Pier Luigi Rossi (University of Bologna).

MartinoRossi Round Table.

Self-regulation code on voluntary claims used in pasta advertising. A commitment of Unione Italiana Food pasta makers to make pasta claims increasingly transparent

Cristiano Laurenza (Unione Italiana Food), Emanuele Marconi (Bio-Medical Campus of the University of Rome, CREA – Food and Nutrition Research Centre, Rome), Margherita Mastromauro (Unione Italiana Food).

Moderator: Roberta Russo (Unione Italiana Food).

Microwave oven pasteurisation: product innovation and environmental sustainability in fresh pasta

Speaker: Simone Bertoncello (GEA).

GEA presentation.

Pasta and international markets: consumption and trends in the retail and food service channels

Serena Colacino (NielsenIQ), Time goes by but you never go out of fashion

Matteo Figura (Circana), Away-from-home pasta consumption in Italy and Europe.

Dry, traditional, gluten-free and wholemeal pasta: ingredients, quality and process optimisation

Alessandra Marti (University of Milan), The quality of wholemeal pasta: from the raw material to the production process

Pasquale Trematerra (University of Molise), Insect pests in pasta and some considerations on the packaging

Emanuele Marconi (Bio-Medical Campus of the University of Rome, CREA – Food and Nutrition Research Centre, Rome), Optimisation of pasta drying diagrams to limit the Maillard Reaction and lipid oxidation

Lorenzo Estivi (University of Milan), Bioaccessibility of antioxidant compounds in gluten-free pasta enriched with industrial by-products

Riccardo Guidetti (University of Milan), Sustainability in catering: the case of pasta cooking equipment

Laura Gazza (CREA – Agri-Food Engineering and Transformation Research Centre, Rome), Parboiled Wholemeal Rice Pasta: innovative transformation processes for varieties with different amylose content

Cinzia Montemurro (Università degli studi di Bari), Varietal characterisation of pasta using DNA markers.

Moderator: Emanuele Marconi (Bio-Medical Campus of the University of Rome, CREA – Food and Nutrition Research Centre, Rome).

Academic conference.

International associations of pasta producers play a leading role at the Pastaria Festival

During the eighth edition of the Pastaria Festival, the general assemblies were held at Stazione Leopolda of the International Pasta Organisation (IPO), the Union des Associations de Fabricants de Pâtes Alimentaires de l’E.U., (UNAFPA) and the Association of Small and Medium Fresh Pasta Manufacturers (APPAFRE), bringing many prestigious Italian and foreign pasta manufacturers to Florence.

The role of representative of ABIMAPI (the Brazilian association of pasta manufacturers) at the event in Florence was held by the executive president, Claudio Zanão, who opened the Pastaria Festival alongside another well-known American pasta manufacturer, Carl Zuanelli, who brought the warm greetings of the National Pasta Association (association of US pasta manufacturers) and the International Pasta Organisation (of which he is president).

Margherita Mastromauro, president of the pasta manufacturers of Unione Italiana Food, Gherardo Bonetto, secretary general of the Association of Fresh Pasta Producers (APPF), and Virna Soncin, secretary general of APPAFRE, represented the Italian pasta manufacturing sector at the opening of the Pastaria Festival.

Unione Italiana Food was also the promoter of an interesting panel discussion organised in the Pastaria Festival during which an innovative self-regulation code on voluntary claims for pasta advertising was presented.

First national meeting of small top-quality pasta factories

Getting to know each other and comparing notes on topics of interest for all artisan dry pasta makers: this was the goal that brought numerous Italian pasta makers to Fiera Pastaria & Festival on Monday 20 May, to take part in the First national meeting of small quality pasta makers, accepting the invitation of Dino Martelli from the well-known pasta factory in Lari (Pisa).

“A real success”, according to Martelli, that highlighted the need to effectively communicate the distinctive characteristics of artisan pasta production, also using social media.

The pasta factories that took part in the event, which will very likely be repeated in future editions of the Pastaria Festival, are listed below: Famiglia Martelli, Pastificio Fratelli De Luca, Rustichella d’Abruzzo, Pastificio Cav. Cocco, Pastificio Fratelli De Luca, Pastificio Masciarelli, Pastificio Caterina, Alica, Pastificio Nicola Russo, Pastificio Carmiano, Pastificio Antonio Massa, Pastificio Ducato di Amalfi, Pastificio Gentile, 28 Pastai, Gerardo Di Nola, Gragnano in Corsa, Pastificio Il Mulino di Gragnano, Pastificio Sorrentino, Pastai Gragnanesi, Pastificio Afeltra, Pastificio Daniello, La Fabbrica della pasta di Gragnano, Pastificio Cuomo, Faella, Pastificio dei campi, Pastificio Merulo, Pastificio F.lli Setaro, Pastificio Caccese, Pastificio Graziano, Pastificio Vicidomini, Pasta di Canossa, Sapori Antichi, Pastificio Strampelli, Pastificio di Amante, Pastificio Alva Valle Scrivia, Pastificio Latini, Pasta Premiata, Filotea, La pasta di Camerino, Mancini, Spinosi, Camp’Oro, Pastificio Allemandi, Pastificio D’Amicis, Casa Prencipe, Benedetto Cavalieri, Pastificio Donna Itryia, Pastificio Vescera, Feudo Mondello, Fabbri, Michele Portoghese, Pastificio Chelucci, Pastificio Panarese, Pastificio Prosit Romeo, Pastificio Morelli, Pastificio Caponi, Pastificio Lettieri, Antico Pastificio Umbro, Pastificio Mozzo, Pastificio Frentana, Verrigni – Antico Pastificio Rosetano.

 

Sponsors of the Pastaria Festival 2024