Webinar | Italian F&B in China: Food Safety & Innovations

The China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC) and its Food & Beverage Working Group (F&BWG) have successfully organized the webinar Italian F&B in China: Food Safety and Innovations.

The event was held on July 20th online, with consecutive translations from Italian to Chinese by Giulia Zappon, CICC promoter in Changsha (Hunan).

Four members of China-Italy Chamber of Commerce were invited to share their professional knowledge:

• Cristina Corsini – CEO of Good Italy Group and Coordinator of the CICC F&B Working Group (F&BWG)
• Mario Tasso – Regional GAM Apac Manager at JAS FORWARDING (China) and Coordinator of the CICC Logistics Working Group (LWG)
• Gabriele Pegoraro – CICC Promoter, Operation and Financial Manager at Venezia Club Tianjin
• Xie Fujiang – Technical Manager at Goglio (Tianjin) Packaging Co, Ltd.

In her opening speech, Cristina Corsini introduced the current international food safety regulations and standards, moving on to the regulatory changes that have taken place in China since 2009. Chinese regulations have in fact undergone a process of radical transformations, in line with other countries, regarding inspections, traceability, and risk monitoring.

In particular, attention was paid to the Food Safety Law that came into effect in 2009 (in Chinese,  食品安全法 shipin anquan fa), and recent regulations that have reinvigorated the focus on food safety in the Chinese context.

Ms. Corsini continued by addressing crucial food safety issues, such as that of food authenticity, traceability and re-traceability processes and the extent to which technology can ensure their effectiveness.

Mario Tasso then gave a general overview regarding the topic of controlled temperature logistics, its function, and its importance in ensuring the maintenance of food safety standards. In addition, the technologies used in logistics to ensure controlled temperatures and the aspects that distinguish air freight from ocean freight were presented.

In this regard, Mr. Tasso outlined the features and benefits of the "Ice Bridge" project, a cooperation between our Chamber’s Logistics Working Group and the F&B Working Group, which allows CICC Members the maritime import of numerous types of products from Italy through a proper segmentation of the containers, ensuring excellent and innovative maintenance of the transported goods.

The topic of food safety in the field of catering was addressed by Gabriele Pegoraro who, by using the experience gained in his own restaurant Venezia Club Tianjin, offered numerous elucidations on the subject. In particular, Mr. Pegoraro explained the principles of food safety, focusing then on what protocols and guidelines the restaurant industry is required to comply with nationwide.

Concluding the webinar was Xie Fujiang, technical manager at Goglio (Tianjin) Packaging Co., Ltd. Mr. Xie introduced the company and its mission and then framed the discussion on the innovative role of QR codes in ensuring packaging traceability, contributing to the prevention of counterfeiting and guaranteeing food safety.

The four speakers contributed greatly to increase the general safety knowledge and to address the benefits of technological innovations in the vast and complex food market.

The Food&Beverage Working Group (F&BWG) includes all companies operating in the F&B and Ho.Re.Ca sector, such as manufacturers, companies importing Italian products to China, Italian restaurants, and so on. Despite being one of the most fragmented and problematic sectors, F&B represents an incredible opportunity for Italian companies. For this reason, CICC decided to set up a dedicated working group.

What we do

The F&B Working Group organizes joint promotional activities and events in order to avoid fragmentation and maximize the marketing appeal of Italian food culture.

Benefits for CICC's Working Group Members

Participate in the largest Italian F&B community, exhibit during B2B and B2C events. The F&BWG constantly keeps institutions and authorities updated to make them aware of the main challenges its members face in the Chinese market.

The working group has launched a WeChat Mini Program to improve members' online exposure and bring traffic to their e-commerce platforms.

For more information, contact infoshanghai@cameraitacina.com.