Italian food & beverage industry conquers China

(AGI) Shanghai, April 20 - Italy's food & beverage industry featured at Shanghai International Technology Fair, as its products begin to appear more and more on the table of the new Chinese middle class. Food and imports of typical foods, apparently far from technology and smart cities, is part and parcel of the Italian quality system which appears in its projects as well as its food safety policies. Guido Forni, CEO of Italmenu, Coop's Chinese partner, told AGI: "We aim to network in the food & beverage sector to access the Chinese market which means several issues regarding high volume products need to be tackled as a whole and not individually by each producer, with agreements with the institutions and not only with individual firms." The Chinese middle class not only wants more viable cities, but also a better quality of life in terms of food, he said. Forni said that Italy can now play a major role and reach an increasing number of consumers. "Imported food undergoes strict control procedures. Every single batch imported into China is checked and tested, no matter where it comes from. These imported foods are safe, while Chinese products are usually not. Italy's regulations are much stricter than those of other European countries, especially on preservatives and chemical additives." Italy's agrifood challenge is to extend the number of consumers, in accordance with the Chinese government's short and middle term development plans. "Italy is certainly ready to meet the product quality demands, and that is one of the goals. This is today's approach and it has become visible in product quality and control procedures. There is first of all an increasing demand by the Chinese population, and it is mostly the middle class that demands such products." (AGI)