Secondment of Dr M.Jose Oruna-Concha from Reading University (UK) to EVRA (Italy) (Feb-Mar 2023) – Part 2
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the second part of my secondment to EVRA had to be postponed until early this year (Feb-Mar 2023).
On this occasion, I visited the research laboratories of Prof Giorgia Spigno from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Piacenza and partner of FODIAC. We discussed common research areas of interest, including the valorisation of agro-food by-products through the recovery of high added-value compounds, particularly antioxidant compounds, which is the core theme for FODIAC.
During my visit, I had the opportunity to join her and one of her colleagues as well as some of her students, for a day trip to OrtoRomi, a cooperative in the north of Italy, committed to pursuing a sustainable policy, supporting the SDGs – the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals for the planet, from water resources optimization, energy saving, abolition of the use of environmentally-damaging pesticides through the implementation of the integrated pest management technique.
We visited the premises, had an interesting presentation by one of the production managers, Mr Luca Sgardiolo, covering fresh produce and ready meals/fresh juices (considerations and safety) and saw first-hand the production line for fresh salads.
As part of the trip, I also had the opportunity to travel with Dr Filomena De Biasio (Osun Solutions S.r.L.) and Mr Domenico Gorgoglione (EVRA) to Naples and visit the University of Naples Federico II and meet Prof Fabrizio Sarghini and Prof Paola Vitaglione and visit their research laboratories.
The visit ended with a working lunch at one of Naples’ well-known restaurants. Grazie!
