The meeting follows a series of events leading up to the Spices& Herbs Global Expo (Riminifiera, 8-10 May).

Producers, sector operators, universities, institutions: all together discussing the medicinal plants in Emilia Romagna one year after the flood. Appointment on Friday 15 March from 9.30 am at the Department of Food Science and Technology (Distal) of the University of Bologna (Viale Fanin, 44 – room 15) with the meeting “Officinals: Emilia Romagna doesn't wait”.

Emilia Romagna represents a point of reference for the sector in Italy. The number of companies and surfaces involved in medicinal plants is continuously increasing, as revealed by the monitoring carried out in recent years by the Region. A phenomenon that concerns many micro-agricultural companies in the Apennines that are focusing on cultivation and distillation, and that in the plains gives continuity to consolidated agro-industrial chains, which supply extractive industries and trading companies of herbal raw materials with a long tradition present right in the region. Even on a technical-scientific and cultural level, Emilia Romagna has always led the way in the sector: thanks to the University of Bologna, which has expressed significant personalities in the agronomic and pharmaceutical fields in the study of medicinal plants, and to the scientific center of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, always sensitive to the study and characterization of natural derivatives and essential oils in particular. A research work that finds application in the area in the teaching activities carried out by professional technical institutes, which involve the young generations in direct contact with the producers.

The meeting on Friday 15 March in Bologna, after the introductory speech by the director of Distal Rosalba Lanciotti , and the presentation of the objectives of the Spices&Herbs Global Expo by the president of Macfrut Renzo Piraccini , delves into some focuses of interest for agricultural businesses that they look at this supply chain: Luca Rizzi, from the Market Organisations, Quality and Promotion sector of the Emilia Romagna Region, will illustrate data from the regional supply chain; Ilaria Marotti and Giovanni Dinelli , Distal teachers, will discuss different models for introducing the cultivation of medicinal plants on the farm; Stefania Benvenuti , professor of the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, will address aspects related to quality and the creation of added value in medicinal products.

The short reports will be followed by a round table, moderated by the director of Erboristeria tomorrow Demetrio Benelli , in which Daniele Merlini (Azienda Agricola Le Fontanine), producer of medicinal plants, has been invited to participate; Alberto Breseghello (owner of Patrizio Breseghello, a Casola Valsenio company that transforms and markets medicinal plants); Elisa Cappi , teacher at the Spallanzani Technical Institute of Monteombraro di Zocca (MO); Ferruccio Poli , professor of the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology of the University of Bologna and coordinator of the Officinal Plants working group of the Italian Botanical Societies. The conclusions are entrusted to Andrea Primavera , president of Fippo, (Italian Federation of Official Plant Producers).

The meeting in Bologna follows a series of events leading up to the Spices & Herbs Global Expo of Macfrut, promoted with the collaboration of the specialized magazine Erboristeria Oggi and Fippo, and which have already touched Salerno, Milan and the district in the past months. of the Racconigi mint, in Piedmont.