The 5th and last Peer Review of the FoodChains 4 UE project, will be held in Emilia-Romagna from 12th to 15th of February 2019.
The agrofood is an economic engine for the Emilia-Romagna Region, thanks to a high level of specialisation and a great number of PDO (protected designation of origin) and PGI (protected geographical indication) products, which are exported all over the world. The sector covers all the food chain, from the farmers to the consumers and it include ICT systems, equipment and machineries, transformation and packaging factory and logistics activity.

Emilia-Romagna is the most representative region in Europe for number and value of quality and geographical indications products (PDO and PGI): 44 Food PDO and IGP (first region in Italia and EU), 6,200 farms interested in PDO & PGI products, more than 40% of the turnover of the Italian PDO&PGI products, 30 Wine PDO and PGI.

The focus of Emilia-Romagna Peer Review will be on innovation on food packaging, with the aim to develop sustainable food chains, in terms of marketing, labelling, environmental sustainability, product quality and food safety.

The Peer Review Team will be based in Bologna, by the Emilia-Romagna Region headquarters, where meetings and workshop will take place.

The PR will start on 12th February with a workshop called "The packaging of food products in Emilia-Romagna: perspectives of innovation and sustainability", in which experts from the regional administration and research bodies outline the main features of the regional packaging district and the framework for Peer Review participants. Moreover significant experiences on innovation in food packaging will be presented.

During the week the peer reviewers will have the opportunity to see significant production realities throughout the region: there will be field visits to a leader company of the Bologna packaging district, to a meat processing factory and a vinegar cellar strongly rooted on the territory in Modena and to an innovative fruit packaging factory in Ferrara.

The conclusions and recommendations of the PR experts, regarding the packaging of food products in Emilia-Romagna, will be presented during a dissemination workshop, on 15th February.

The Monitoring Board Meeting will take place on 14th February 2019, in order to make a point on the progress of the FOOD CHAINS 4 EU project and to plan the upcoming activities.

On 15th February are also scheduled two important technical sessions: the Financial meeting and Action Plan meeting.