Bta. will reveal the food technology of the future

What will the foods of the future be like? What developments are being undertaken by universities and technology centres? How do we decide what we will be eating in upcoming years?  Bta., Barcelona Food Technology will make innovation the absolute star of its next edition, looking ahead to solutions and discovering the lines of action that will lay out the map for the food of tomorrow.

Frozen fruit that will keep for years without losing any of its properties, freshly made juices and stewed fruit with long use-by dates and fresh meat that is marketed with months of logistics time. Food technology seems to have overcome the time barrier thanks to a powerful equipment, machinery and technology industry which is responsible for the level of quality and competitiveness in a sector which is already among the major driving forces behind the country's economy.

Bta. is the benchmark trade show for the food technology industry. The upcoming edition, taking place 21–24 April 2015 at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Vía venue, will promote innovation as a strategic focus for the industry through different exhibition spaces, seminars, business meetings and demonstration areas.

‘Bta. promotes research and innovation in the food industry, contributing to the modernisation, competitiveness and sustainable development of the sector,' says director Víctor Pascual. To this end, the show will feature the Innovation Meeting Point, a large area devoted to innovation, with research centres, consulting firms, official bodies and various organisations linked to research and development.

Sensors, nanotechnology and sustainability

This dynamic area will have presentations, lectures, seminars and meetings between the distribution side and the food industry. It will also present the main projects being undertaken at universities and technology centres. The challenges involved in using sensors in production, technologies that are innovating control processes in the meat industry, using nanotechnology to maintain bioactive components in functional foods or to develop new packaging which preserves food properties longer, and the logistics of e-commerce will be some of the subjects covered.

The Innovation Meeting Point programme will be led by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Agri-Food Research and Technology Institute (IRTA in its Spanish acronym), Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), University of Lleida, AINIA Technology Centre, Spanish Logistics Centre (CEL in its Spanish acronym), Triptolemos Foundation and Spanish Commercial Coding Association (AECOC in its Spanish acronym), among other institutions.

Rewarding innovation

In addition, with the aim of recognising and encouraging innovation in the field of food technology, Bta. is launching the Bta.Innova and Bta.Emprende awards in 2015. The first of these will recognise business projects that are especially noteworthy for their innovation and creativity, and which have been marketed during the three-year period between editions of the show. All exhibitors are eligible to participate in the Bta.Innova Awards, provided that they register as a candidate by 27 February 2015.

For their part, the Bta.Emprende Awards are open to companies that have been in existence for less than three years, regardless of whether they are exhibitors at the show. The most innovative projects will be selected from among the candidates and provided with a prominent exhibition space. Registrations for the Bta.Emprende Awards must be received by 15 December 2014.

In the words of Josep Maria Momfort, managing director of IRTA (Catalan acronym for the Agri-Food Research and Technology Institute), these awards highlight the fact that ‘the food machinery industry is highly innovative and plays a key role in the competitiveness of the Spanish food industry. Being a leading global player in the agri-food industry requires access to cutting-edge machinery and technology which makes it possible to produce products efficiently, at a lower cost and with high quality and safety margins.'

Bta.Innova and Bta.Emprende are organised by Bta., the Agri-Food Research and Technology Institute (IRTA in its Catalan acronym) and the Food For Life Platform, with the support of the Spanish National Preserve and Seafood Manufacturers Association (Anfaco in its Spanish acronym), Multi-sector Business Association (Amec in its Spanish acronym), AINIA Technology Centre, Azti Tecnalia, Spanish Food and Drink Industry Federation (FIAB in its Spanish acronym) and National Centre for Food Technology and Safety (CNTA in its Spanish acronym).

With four months to go before the event, Bta. 2015 has already taken bookings for 90% of the space occupied at its previous edition in 2012.  Given the pace of sales for the show, we can predict that Bta. will be Europe's largest food technology trade show in 2015. The exhibition features a wide range of industry offerings organised in three shows – Tecnocárnica, Tecnoalimentaria and Ingretecno – serving the meat industry, food industry in general and intermediate food products sector.

For the third consecutive edition, the show will be held alongside Hispack, International Packaging Exhibition, bringing together more than 1,100 companies from some 30 different countries. This will provide professional visitors with access to the largest range of industry offerings in the areas of packaging and food technology.