Anuga FoodTec 2018 looks to the future
Anuga FoodTec will run March 20 to 23, 2018, at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. Nearly 1,700 suppliers from more than 50 countries will present their new products for the production and packaging of all types of food and beverage.
“Traditionally process technology has been the most represented section at the trade fair,” said Katharina Hamma, chief operating officer of event organizer Koelnmesse GmbH. “This year there is greater emphasis on food safety and quality management, as well as food ingredients.”
She said visitors will experience the entire production cycle, from how basic ingredients are processed and how a product is made, all the way to the primary and secondary packing of the finished product.
The theme of this year’s exhibition and technical program—resource efficiency—will be showcased through topics such as optimizing production processes, reducing energy and water consumption, and minimizing food loss through ingredient, process and package technology. The technical program is organized by Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG), the German agricultural society.
Simone Schiller, managing director-competence center food at DLG, said the growing demand for commodities and energy sources worldwide and the increasing urbanization are compelling the industry to review its behavior and economic activity.
Complementing this theme is next-generation robotics technology, which will be demonstrated through every step of the manufacturing chain, from incoming raw materials to outgoing finished product.
“The main areas of robot applications are currently still the heavy palletizing work and tasks in the field of packaging and re-packaging,” Schiller said. “However enormous developments in the fields of hygienic design, electronic image capture and analysis, and gripper technology are making it possible to use robots increasingly for ever more difficult tasks in direct contact with foods.”
In addition to the theme of resource efficiency, there will be an expert forum on topics of current interest to the food industry under the heading “Topics, trends, technologies – what’s moving today’s food industry?” This forum will offer presentations and panel discussions on topics of current interest, including convenience, food authenticity, modified atmosphere packaging, genome editing, high pressure processing and more. A separate forum will be dedicated to food ingredients and product development and will address the topics of clean labeling, personalized nutrition, texture design, enzymes in food production and functional foods.
