Europa: Winds of change for the potato sector
Elections are coming for Agripat, the Bologna Dop and for the Consorzio Selenella. New people will reach the top of Agripat on the 22 of January, during the best year for potatoes ever.
The elections will occur in February for the Dop and in May for Selenella.
The outgoing Agripat president Michele Filippini stated, “Prices are high, and the Bologna agreement fixed the price at 0.32 euros/kg. Last year, the max was 21 cents while the min was 18 cents. The current positive conditions are caused by the produce shortage happening throughout Northern Europe”.
Prices are very good, and the Italian produce is of high quality and preservability, especially the one coming from Emilia Romagna. The destocking is going regularly, and the produce will be enough for the entire marketing campaign – until the end of April.
Fillippini confirmed that Agripat is using a tool to trace the origin of potatoes. This device allows understanding if the product’s label is lying or not. This is a very useful tool and it is scientifically tested to guarantee that a potato’s origin is precisely the one stated on its label.
Filippini concluded, “Traceability is a good thing, but checks must be more effective and scientifically proof. Our system is based on atomic analysis that allows us to be sure about a potato’s origin”.
From a technical standpoint, the tool is based on the fact that isotope relationships within natural compounds have different values according to their origin (latitude, altitude, distance from the sea), their climate (temperature, humidity, rain frequency), geologic characteristics of the territory, the fertilisation technique utilised (organic or mineral) and the plant variety. These natural variations are a consequence of the different chemical-physical properties of the isotopes of the same element, which are given by the different mass and nuclear spin.
Filippini concluded, “In order to give certain results, it is crucial to creating a ‘history’ through the analysis of annual reports. This is what we are doing. However, as of today, we can already determine if a potato’s label is stating the truth. This is an excellent system against frauds”.
Info:
Agripat
Via Tosarelli 155
40055 Villanova di Castenaso (BO)
Tel.: +39 051 782170
Fax: +39 051 782356
Fuente: https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9063007/winds-of-change-for-the-potato-sector/
