Candied tomatoes, caviar essence, green salami and whole ketchup: foods that soon, within two years, we could find on supermarket shelves. Speaking about them were researchers from the various departments of the Experimental Station for the Food Preserving Industry (SSICA) at Expo, in the CibusèItalia pavilion.
In addition to these is a coating for metal packaging or film with barrier effect for flexible packaging obtained from by-products of legume processing.
“All five research projects – says the coordinator of the Scientific Committee of SSICA – demonstrate the vocation of the Experimental Station to be at the service of the food industry, both improving quality standards and optimising production costs, in particular as regards waste management. On the other hand, SSICA is very attentive to the possible social consequences of the results of its research projects: corollaries of our mission to promote scientific and technological progress are increasing protection of consumer health and respect for the environment”.
Health, safety, taste and respect for the environment are in fact the main lines along which the projects have been developed, such as that of whole ketchup, using tomato paste but together with the use of industrial processing waste products transformed into healthy ingredients, such as oil from dried seeds rich in phytosterols (anti-LDL cholesterol) and other essential nutrients.
In the same direction of functional food are going green salamis (in the large photo), obtained with the addition of natural ingredients of plant origin (polyphenols and vitamin C) in the mixture or in the muscle which, retaining the sensory and taste characteristics of the traditional product, have a chemio-protective function on intestinal cells and allow salami with reduced salt and nitrite content to be obtained.
With caviar essence (developed in collaboration with Agro Ittica Lombarda) consumers are provided with a high-protein, low-fat and low-salt product, with luxury gourmet characteristics, but at a lower cost and with practically zero environmental impact. It also exploits a by-product of the fish industry so far largely underused, but rich in nutrients.
Finally, candied tomatoes undergo candying processes which are currently not available on the 
market: the varieties used (Oxheart and Cherry) are usually eaten fresh.
The use of candied tomatoes ranges from garnishing for cocktails and desserts to accompanying cheeses or salamis.
All these products, as happens in the normal activities of SSICA, have undergone scientific tests to ensure their food safety.
