Resource efficiency is the overall theme of the international supplier fair for the food and beverage industry, 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, Anuga organizers said in a news release. The event also will feature a technical program that includes workshops, conferences and guided tours.

“Traditionally process technology has been the most represented section at the trade fair,” said Katharina Hamma, chief operating officer, Koelnmesse GmbH, in a news release. “This year there is greater emphasis on food safety and quality management, as well as food ingredients. Visitors 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, the German agricultural society.

“The growing demand for commodities and energy sources worldwide and the increasing urbanization are compelling us to review our present behaviour and economic activity,” said Simone Schiller, managing director-competence center food at DLG. “Careful, and at the same time efficient, management of natural resources is the key competence of sustainable societies, societies that are fit for the future. The exhibitors this year will be presenting a range of solutions showing how competitiveness can be strengthened and how the use of energy and water as well as food losses during production can be reduced.”

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. “Topics, trends, technologies – what’s moving today’s food industry?” will offer presentations and panel discussions on such topics as convenience, food authenticity, modified atmosphere packaging, genome editing, high-pressure processing and more. 

A separate forum, dedicated to food ingredients and product development, will address clean labelling, personalized nutrition, texture design, enzymes in food production and functional foods.

For more information on Anuga FoodTec 2018, visit www.anugafoodtec.com.