Technology

The World Food Programme estimates that 45 million people are currently on the brink of famine. Last year, the UN estimated that about 800 million people were already living with hunger. Ending hunger is classified as the second of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve by 2030, yet statistics are so alarming that call for quicker actions. Food insecurity has doubled in the past two years, food prices are spiraling and - although food supplies have been first disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic then by the Ukrainian conflict - global hunger is an ongoing, long-standing problem that needs…

English is the most widely spoken language in various contexts in the world and it has been the global language of trade for a long time. This still holds true especially for meetings, negotiations and contracts yet, when it comes to online sales, the scenario is rather different these days. As most of the action in today’s export industry takes place online, offering a multilingual experience becomes central to any efficient marketing strategy. Several studies have demonstrated that, on average, 75% of people want to purchase products in their native language and 92.2% want to make purchases in their local…

The pandemic and the supply chain disruptions that followed have highlighted how important it is for many consumer goods - particularly perishable foods - to be delivered intact and on time. At the same time, the attention paid by customers to food waste and food safety has risen to unprecedented levels. Innovative technologies are now helping the sector to extend the shelf-life of food products while improving food quality and safety. Among them, high pressure processing (HPP) is still the most popular. HPP is a unique food preservation method that utilizes cold water and extreme pressure to inactivate foodborne pathogens…

Last month we launched e-alifood.com, a new digital touchpoint for food professionals and international buyers alike. Considering the quick acceleration of the digitalization process - boosted by the Covid-19 pandemic - and new emerging market trends, we transformed our offline customer-centered approach into an online shopper experience that is truly unique. We still offer the best selection of top-quality Italian food products to international buyers all over the world; yet this online solution has allowed us to add a new tool to the ecosystem of services we already provide, in order to make our worldwide clients more autonomous about what…

When we started Alifood we had the ambitious dream of matching the quality of our services to that of the Italian food products we export. Twenty-five years later, we can proudly say that we made it. Thanks to an approach which is following the new tendencies after these years of pandemic era, we have now added a new digital touchpoint. A new e-commerce which is based on new exigences of professional and international buyers offering to them an efficient, speed and easy-to-use buying experience. E-alifood.com must be considered and utilized as a new online tool, always accessible from everywhere in…

When innovative technologies are mentioned, chances are that the food and beverage industry does not come to mind. Yet our sector is one of the most affected by the ongoing digital transformation which is rapidly reshaping the way that many businesses are run. As a matter of fact, new technologies and the rise of Industry 4.0 are creating a vast range of brand-new opportunities for everybody, food and beverage companies included. These technologies - such as, for example, advanced data analytics, clouds, Internet of Things (IoT) and smart sensors – are proving to have the potential to lead a sustainable…

The digital era we live in entails an ongoing digital revolution that changes technology rapidly. The interesting part of these fast changes is the versatility shown by technological innovations that seem to develop new potential when applied to different sectors. Take blockchain, for example. Initially created to regulate the transactions made in cryptocurrency, it now stands as the most revolutionary way to innovate the food sector and its supply chain. We all know by now that a blockchain is a digital distributed ledger, maintained by a network of multiple computers that store data in the form of blocks which are…

As we all know by now, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines - especially computer systems - to perform tasks commonly associated with human intelligence. Since the term was coined, back in 1956 at a conference in New Hampshire, AI has become a trending topic spanning various sectors. Many are its applications but what mostly interests us is its implementation within the supply chain. The capabilities of AI are already significantly increasing companies’ efficiency in the areas of predictive demand, warehouse management and operations costs. Intelligent systems can rapidly process and analyze a huge number of data thus…

High pressure processing (HPP) is a non-thermal technique that allows food preservation by inactivating harmful pathogens and vegetative spoilage microorganisms that cause food-borne diseases. With this system, most foods can be efficiently preserved while minimizing the impact on taste, texture and nutritional value. HPP utilizes intense pressure (about 400–600 MPa or 58,000–87,000 psi) at a process temperature of less than 45°C. Products in flexible and water-proof packages are conveyed within plastic baskets into a vessel which gets filled with water; this, in turn, gets pressurized at 6,000 bar. Acting uniformly, isostatic pressure inactivates food-borne microorganisms and spoilage enzymes in a…

Food packaging is a global industry that has experienced a constant growth in recent years: plus 6.8% in value terms since 2013, a figure that confirms packaging as an essential element in modern trade. Due to the growing interest that consumers are showing in fresh products with extended shelf life, the biggest challenge that the food packaging industry is currently facing concerns continuous innovation in concepts and technology to satisfy and somewhat anticipate their needs. Starting from the visual appeal that significantly influences the consumers’ choices, one of the most interesting innovations is vacuum skin packaging. With its clear, attractive…

Frozen food has earned a negative reputation over the years for being highly processed and less nutritious than fresh food. You may be surprised to learn that this is far from the truth. Frozen food can be just as healthy, if not healthier, than its fresh counterpart: it all depends on how quickly and efficiently the food has been frozen and also on how professionally the supply chain has been managed before that frozen food reaches our kitchens. Freezing food to avoid spoilage is a practice that has been popular since 3000 BC when the ancient Chinese used ice cellars…

The COVID‐19 pandemic significantly disrupted the food supply chain: think of all the food normally going to restaurants that had to be diverted to other outlets to avoid its waste or all those gaps in the supermarket shelves due to the absence of common items whose availability has always been taken for granted. In this context, having a system in place that allowed distributors to extend the shelf life of foods proved to be essential: it was not just about being able to meet the unforeseeable peaks and falls in demand but also - and above all - about preserving…