A plant management that wants to avoid waste. This is the message sent during the Pink Lady Day held at the Gruppo Mazzoni on Friday 9th of November 2018. After the welcoming speech by the manager Luigi Mazzoni, the CSO president Paolo Bruni took the stage.
From the left: Luigi Mazzoni, Sergio Trevisan, Paolo Bruni, Monica Artosi, Eleonora Barbero, Raffaella Donati.
Bruni: “The Mazzoni group stands out, thanks to the entrepreneurship of Mario and Gualtiero Mazzoni. They both carried on their father’s work in an extremely wise manner. Today, a third generation is working in the company as well, like Luigi and Matteo. This is the demonstration of the generational change, in line with our tradition”.
Paolo Bruni
After the intervention of the marketing manager Sergio Trevisan, the product manager Silvia Carpio illustrated the characteristics of the Pink Lady, “In 2018, Pink Lady celebrates its 20th anniversary. This apple has been able to stand out among all the others. The harvesting process has three stages in order to have the best quality. In Italy, 50% is farmed in Alto Adige, the other half is mostly located in Emilia Romagna – we also have plants in Lombardia, Veneto and Puglia. Together with the traditional variety Cripps Pink, the Rosy Glow variety is becoming increasingly available. This variety has a better colour and bigger yields with fewer inputs.
Silvia Carpio
Then, the Op Cico QA manager, Katia Lupato, continued: “Every year, we improve our methods in order to maximise the waste avoidance. If on one hand, we try to limit the waste on the field, on the other hand, the improvement of the post-harvest allows us to waste as little fruit as possible".
The AgroFresh contact Eleonora Barbero intervened on the post-harvest: “A cell devoted to Pink Lady is charged at 5°C, and then drops to 2.5°C. Smart Fresh controls the ethylene production. The device is connected to a modified dynamic atmosphere where the oxygen percentage is reduced by 1% in order to slow down the fruits’ breathing as much as possible. The cell can be controlled through our system that allows checking the quality and the number of volatile compounds within. Everything can be managed through an app for smartphones”.
Monica Artosi, CPR System manager, “Our re-usable boxes play a crucial role in the fight against waste. We can craft new boxes from the broken ones thus creating plastics.
Some representatives of the Associazione Nazionale le Donne dell'Ortofrutta.
Raffaella Donati, Slow Food Emilia Romagna coordinator: “Unfortunately, food has no value at all for 95% of the population. People choose it only on the base of the price, which must be low. Food goes to waste because it has no value any more. The less it costs the lower its value. It does not have an identity any more – and the “super incredible offer” labels in supermarkets prove my point. The 3x2 offers facilitate food waste. Is estimated that every person throws away 95 kg of food on average yearly. We can improve our quality only if the consumer will become a co-producer: that is to say, she will be able to influence the productive world through her choices based on quality, identity and value of the produce”.
The president of the Associazione Le Donne dell’Ortofrutta Alessandra Ravaioli, “We want to thank the Mazzoni Group for its sensitivity. Today, the pink colour has been dominant, and not only because of the Pink Lady apple”.
After a short visit to the processing plant, the group moved to the Tenuta Zenzalino company, 50 hectares of which are occupied by Pink Lady crops.
Info:
Mazzoni Group
Via del Mare, 4
44039 Tresigallo (Ferrara)
Ufficio Commerciale-Amministrativo
Tel. +39 0533607511
Fax +39 0533607890
Email info@vivaimazzoni.com
Web: www.mazzonigroup.com