Innovative, standardized and certified process and product technologies for tropical fruits supply chain
Valorization of the Sicilian tropical fruits supply chain by means of the standardization of farming operations, harvest, post-harvest, storage aimed at transformation and marketing of innovative products. Creation of technical documents such as product specifications and regulations in order to transfer the know-how to Sicilian farms and agrifood companies in terms of farming operations, machines and industrial plants for process and product innovation.
1. territorial animation activity; 2. transfer of sustainable farming techniques to farms, identification of optimal harvesting time and post-harvest management; 3. obtaining innovative products with the adoption of edible coating and modified atmosphere packaging; 4. production of 100% fruit-based juices obtained by low-calorie pasteurisation; spheres obtained by spherification; pearls obtained by cryopreservation; 5. valorization of the supply chain through product and process certification; 6. launch and marketing of the realized innovative products; 7. communication and dissemination of results.
The tropical fruits, in recent years, have shown a strong expansion in the Mediterranean area. In Italy they are grown almost exclusively in Sicily, where they have been introduced in the 1980s as possible alternative crops for citrus fruits, and nowadays, given the crisis in these crops, they are expanding in terms of invested areas. The high profitability and the increasing interest by consumers towards fruits considered "superfoods" for their nutraceutical and functional characteristics, which in Sicily are also tree riped, represent undeniable advantages compared to those imported from tropical areas. However, most of the farms that grow tropical fruits in Sicily are small sized - increasing the unit management costs and limiting the introduction of process and / or product innovations -, they adopt farming operations that are not very sustainable in environmental and energy terms, and they confer the product without any type of certification that can enhance and differentiate it. Moreover, if we consider that there is no type of cooperation (horizontal and vertical), it is evident that farmers on the one hand have a low bargaining power and on the other one they are unable to add value to their productions. In this context, the aim of the Project is to enhance the productions deriving from the Sicilian tropical fruit supply chain through the introduction of process and product innovations in all phases of the supply chain, from cultivation to those linked to post-harvest and distribution.
Transfer of sustainable farming techniques to farms, identification of optimal harvesting time and post-harvest management.The innovations that will affect farms will be introduced by researchers of SAAF Department of the University of Palermo. The scholars will transfer to the farms the know-how related to rational and sustainable agronomic techniques for farming management, aimed at increasing organic carbon in the soils and reducing CO2 emissions, avoiding surface erosion phenomena, limiting chemical and energy inputs, increasing the efficiency of the use of water resources for irrigation purposes, improving the quality of surface and ground water resources. A reduction of inputs in the production process of more than 5% at the end of the project is hoped by means of the adoption of integrated production guidelines and eco-sustainable management methods. The farmers will also be followed during the harvest and post-harvest phase, in order to identify the optimal harvest point and to better manage the cold supply chain for confer fruits to the processing industry. In fact, over the years, the researchers of the SAAF Department have published numerous researches on agronomic management, harvesting and post-harvesting in national and international journals. They will also test the introduced innovations in the laboratories of the SAAF Department, in which they will analyze soil, vegetable and fruit samples.
"Obtaining innovative products with the adoption of edible coating (EC) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). The researchers of the SAAF Department will transfer their knowledge on the adoption of edible coating and modified atmosphere packaging and on the qualitative and nutraceutical aspects related to these techniques.
These are two innovations aimed at maintaining a high level of fruit quality, limiting product losses due to rapid deterioration during handling, transport and storage, even after being removed from the cold supply chain. This involves an extension of the shelf-life of fresh-cut products, while the adoption of biodegradable plastic films at the same time could also have a significant role in the disposal of packaging in order to obtain an environmental sustainability of the products. The testing of the innovations introduced will be carried out by MedicAir Industry."
Production of 100% fruit juices obtained with low-calorie pasteurization; spheres obtained by spherification; pearls obtained for cryopreservation.The innovations will be introduced by MedicAir Industry (holder of the patents) and are represented by: cold extraction and low calorie pasteurization systems, spherification and cryopreservation. The first concerns a production process aimed at obtaining 100% fruit-based juices with a longer shelf-life than those obtainable from traditional extraction and with a higher content in terms of nutraceutical compounds compared to classic pasteurized juices. The second is a basic process of molecular cuisine that allows fruit juices to be transformed into spheres, thus allowing a liquid substance to be encapsulated within them. The third consists in making the freshly extracted juice come into contact with liquid nitrogen, creating fruit pearls (drops) that can be dissolved in water (juices) or alcohol (cocktails). Therefore, MedicAir Industry will transfer the process innovations to the processing industry, while the researchers of the SAAF Department will carry out their monitoring and testing.
Valorization of the supply chain through product and process certification. The certification of the product and production process guaranteed by Agroqualità, will fully enhance productions, allowing them to be standardized, easily identifiable and to comply with a series of hygienic-sanitary conditions necessary for the processing industry. This will involve the adoption of two other organizational-managerial innovations, namely the aggregation of the production offer between the agricultural entrepreneurs involved (horizontal cooperation) and the signing of supply chain contracts (vertical cooperation). The innovation will be transversal to all the operators involved. The adoption of this innovation, in fact, will lead to the drafting of production regulations and regulations, aimed at enhancing both the production of farms and the processing company, as well as the entire production supply chain on the regional, national and foreign market.
Launch and marketing of the realized innovative products. AdVMaiora, in addition to drawing up an adequate marketing plan for innovative products, will work on the QR code and / or Zappar platform. Zappar creates the “bridge” between the page and the digital contents with the Zapcode, a newly designed marker that replaces the traditional QR code. The new technology offers the editor, among other things, greater flexibility in inserting the marker on the page, and the reader greater ease of use, since it is enough to frame the page, even from a distance, to "launch" the multimedia contents. The Zapcode or QR code will contain tourist information on the provinces affected by the G.O. and on the traceability of innovative products. In this way, through this organizational / managerial innovation, consumers will be allowed to know the entire production process that led to the creation of innovative products and the increase in tourist flows will be favored, promoting the socio-economic development of the entire territory and avoiding phenomena of rural exodus.
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