Parma, Italy

Academia Barilla Center and Auditorium Paganini
June 23-26, 2007

Food Culture: Tradition, Innovation and Trust - A Positive Force for Modern Agribusiness

“Is it Time for Standardized Food Safety Certification?”

The human dimension is vital to accomplishing food safety.  The global food supply chain continues to experience food safety events.  Just over the past few months we’ve witnessed the occurrence of botulism in carrot juice, pieces of glass in oatcakes, allergens in tortilla chips, and arsenic in mineral water.  Food manufacturers in the global food supply chain rely on the diligence of their employees to constantly monitor food safety.  This session addresses the provocative issue of standardized food safety certification for food company employees.  The session develops the current extent standards and the costs and benefits of standards are explored.  The session will develop aspects of standardization of food safety training through analyses and a novel look at how standardization might be implemented when there are complex and diverse firms and public policies currently influencing training.

            Chair: John Nichols, Department Head, Ag  Economics, Texas A&M University, USA

                Jerry Siebert, IAMA Executive VP, Economist, University of California - Berkeley

                Neal Hooker, Assoc. Prof. Dept. Ag Environ. & Dev. Economics, The Ohio State University, USA (presentation)

                Sandro Boscaini, President, Masi Agricola SpA, Italy

                Josef Haber, Value Chain Mgr., BASF - Germany

                Thomas L. Sporleder, Professor, AED Economics, The Ohio State University, USA

Bridge Session: "Getting It Right for Business in Emerging Economies"

Developing economies will play an ever increasing role in global markets and will require significant investment in both economic enterprises and infrastructure development, such as transportation, education, communication, water and sanitary systems, business organizational development, legal frameworks, technology transfer, ethics, risk management, etc. While much of the focus has been on public sector involvement, significant opportunities exist for private sector companies to provide leadership and work collaboratively with the public sector. Developing economies provide opportunities both as a source of supply in the food chain, as well as new consumer markets. This session will utilize actual cases and business experiences to explore how private sector companies can become involved and succeed in development efforts.

                Panel Moderator: Carole Brookins, Managing Director, Public Capital Advisors, USA (presentation)

Hans Jöhr, Corporate Head of Agriculture, Nestec Ltd., Switzerland (presentation)

Rhona Applebaum, Vice Pres. & Chief Regulatory Officer, The Coca-Cola Company,  USA (presentation)

Emmo Meijer, Senior Vice Pres. Foods R&D, Unilever, The Netherlands (presentation)

Lynn White, Pres., John Deere Ag Services, USA

Ross McLaren, Former President Shaw’s Supermarkets, UK, USA

Francisco Mere, Director of Business Development Societe Generale, Mexico (presentation)

Doyle Baker, Chief, Agricultural Management, Marketing & Finance, FAO, Italy

“Food as Culture: Is it Real, True Culture, and Does it Help Producers, the Processing Industry and Consumers Connect? A Framework” 

Two keynote speakers explore and document the links between food and cultural tradition.  Special attention is devoted to illustrating the importance of these links and how this type of food-benefit is growing in popularity by a large share of consumers.  This session will provide a framework for the entire conference, suggesting a number of provocative thoughts and discussion ideas.

Chair: Francesco Braga, Prof., University of Guelph, Canada

Giulio Sapelli, Professor,Dipartimento di Scienze della Storia, Università di Milano, Italy

                Birthe Linddal Hansen, Professor, Kairos Future Denmark, Denmark (presentation)

“Food as Culture: Is it Real, True Culture and Does it Help Producers, the Processing Industry and Consumers to Connect?  A Discussion of Industry Experiences”

A roundtable will present personal industry experiences documenting how food and culture are intertwined, and how this relationship has become a positive force throughout their value chain.  Each panelist will exemplify experience from a world-renown traditional product, Protected Designation of Origin product, and a Protected Geographical Indications product.  These specific qualities, linked to natural and human factors, have resulted in their social, environmental and economic sustainability over the last several centuries, and are the foundation of today’s market success.  The discussion will allow the audience to explore challenges and opportunities of interest.

                Chair: Francesco Braga, Prof., University of Guelph, Canada (presentation)

                Luc Morelon, External Communications Mgr, LACTALIS, France (presentation)

                Libero Giovanni Stradiotti,President, Consorzio Tutela Provolone Valpadana, Italy

Eros Valenti, Consorzio del Parmigiano Reggiano, Italy (presentation)

Clement Vachon, Communications Director Sanpellegrino, Italy (presentation)

“Harvard Business School Case on Italian Agribusiness: Barilla”

Barilla, the world’s largest pasta company, has introduced a new high-quality, high-priced product line that features a range of authentic Italian food products sourced from artisan producers. Management believes the line will appeal to consumers seeking healthier foods and convenience, and will help extend Barilla’s brand identification beyond pasta. However, the new line is a bold departure from Barilla’s core competencies of high-volume production and sales of fast moving, low-priced goods. This session provides an opportunity to discuss trends in consumer eating habits, supply chains for locally-produced goods, and changes in retail formats. Additionally, this session examines the investment philosophy differences between a family-owned versus a publicly-traded company.

Chair: Ing. Pietro Gandolfi, President, Societa’  Parmense Per Gli Insediamenti Produttivi

Mary Shelman, Director, Agribusiness Program, Harvard Business School, USA (presentation)

“Science and Food Quality”

This session explores what science can do to document and objectively define the specific quality of typical foods.  Examples are provided using Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma, the two leading Italian Protected Designation of Origin brands, demonstrating how science can map objective key parameters (sensorial properties, ageing, area of origin) which uniquely identify these traditional products and define the identity profile of Intellectual Property of these traditional value chains.

Chair: Rosangela Marchelli, Dean, Department of Agriculture, Università di Parma, Italy

Erasmo Neviani,Professor,Dipartimento di Genetica, Università di Parma, Italy (presentation)

Giovanni Parolari, Professor, Stazione sperimentale per l'industria delle conserve alimentari, Università di Parma, Italy (presentation)

Paolo Tramelli, Marketing Manager,Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma, Italy (presentation)

Carlo Cannella, Dipartimento di Scienza dell’Alimentazione, Università la Sapienza di Roma (presentation)

“Value Creation and Value Reporting in Relation to Food Culture: Intangibles and Evaluating Emotional Assets”

The importance of using proper evaluation techniques when measuring intangible assets in agri-food value chains will be explored through the use of case-based examples. This session will provide you a solid understanding and appreciation for the core issues and practical challenges faced in agribusiness companies.

Chair: Jan Van Roekel, Partner, Synnovia, Netherlands

Thier Marotine, Deputy General Manager, Credit Agricole du Nord-Est, France (presentation)

Hans Jöhr, Corporate Head of Agriculture, Nestec Ltd., Switzerland (presentation)

Henk Folkerts, Managing Partner, ACE (RijnConsult), Netherlands (presentation)

Francis Declerck, Assoc. Professor, Finance & Chair for Excellence in Food Chains, ESSEC Business School Paris, France

“Regulatory Framework: Public vs. Private; Interactions with Food Culture Values”

Attendees will gain an appreciation for the key issues at the frontier of the food safety debate, such as: How companies manage to address different government requirementsand consumer's values and expectations in diverse markets; how regulatory decisions play a role in securing food safety; the advantages of risk-based inspection; and the absolute importance for a regulatory agency to be independent and base its decisions on sound scientific evidence.

            Chair: Reto Battaglia, Fmr. Director of Swiss Quality Control, Migros, Switzerland

Elsa Murano, Vice Chancellor and Dean  Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, USA (presentation)

Rhona Applebaum, VP & Chief Regulatory Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, USA (presentation)

Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, Executive Director, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Italy

“Food vs. Fuel: The Competition for Limited Resources”

As agribusiness gears up for the use of land and other resources to produce renewable fuel sources, an issue arises as to the appropriate mix of using these resources for fuel vs. food uses.  This session will identify the major issues involved, consequences for the food chain and their participants, and alternative scenarios that are likely to occur. The discussion will present a global viewpoint covering the consequences for both developed and developing countries.

Chair: Jerry Siebert, IAMA Executive VP, Economist, University of California - Berkeley

William E. Scott, Vice President, Agland Investment Services Inc., USA (presentation)

Gustavo Grobocopatel, CEO, Grupo Los Grobo, Argentina (presentation)

Josef Haber, Value Chain Mgr., Agricultural Products Unit, BASF, Germany (presentation)

                Marcos Fava Neves, Professor, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil (presentation)

“The Future Food System: Creating and Marketing Healthy Foods for Demanding Consumers”

This session will explore the strategic expectations of major food companies over the next 5 to 10 years, and the possible role and impact of food chain stakeholders on the food culture. The objective for this session is to provide the audience with new "thoughts for food" and some good ideas to take home to their operations and/or professional activities.

                Chair: Hans Jöhr, Corporate Head of Agriculture, Nestec Ltd., Switzerland (presentation)

                Christoph Studer  Professor of Natural Resources Management, Swiss College of Agriculture, Switzerland (presentation)

                Johann Züblin, Head of standards and social compliance Department Marketing, Federation of Migros Cooperatives (MIGROS) Switzerland (presentation)

                Valerio Guareschi, Sales Manager, CIO - Consorzio Interregionale Ortofrutticoli, Italy (presentation)

                Giovanni Praderio , Wellness Champion e Corporate Marketing Manager ,Direzione Consumer Marketing e    Communication , Nestlè,  Italy (presentation)