Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Over the years, the De’Longhi Group has developed a multidisciplinary approach to research involving experts from various fields. This allows them to develop complex projects on different areas such as agriculture, food processing and engineering.
We discussed this during the World Food Forum with Alessandro Benedetti, Senior Innovation Food Engineer at the historic Italian company, known worldwide for its range of small appliances for coffee preparation, food preparation and cooking, comfort, as well as home care. However, behind the final product, there is always an extensive research activity. Alessandro is a representative of the De’Longhi Group's Innovation team, which focuses on pre-product development research with a particular emphasis on developing new technologies for food preparation and the coffee sector. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of OnFoods.
What are the key skills for industrial research at De’Longhi?
We employ food scientists and material scientists, mechanical and electronic engineers, physicists, and product designers. The key word that distinguishes our research team is "multidisciplinarity," combined with a development process that guides work teams from idea generation to "proof of concepts". To make this phase of work more effective, specific tools and metrics were developed and then formalized within the Product organization.
In addition to the aforementioned skills, De’Longhi has the ability to deeply analyze and influence user habits associated with food systems. This is based on a structured approach to evaluating behaviors, usability, and ultimately the anthropological aspects that form the basis of research activities as well as consumer communication.
The De’Longhi Group has also developed a network of collaborations with the academic and industrial worlds to acquire and subsequently develop cutting-edge skills and solutions in scientific research. Working in synergy with universities, in particular, is an approach that allows monitoring the advancement of strategic technological trajectories, which are highly relevant to the world of small appliances.
Within OnFoods, De’Longhi participates and coordinates various research projects between Spoke 2 and Spoke 4. Speaking of Spoke 2, and particularly the research line dedicated to new technologies for reducing food waste, De’Longhi coordinates the COFESAVE project. What needs and demands led to the creation of this project and what is its focus?
COFESAVE addresses one of the main tasks of Spoke 2: identifying new strategies and technologies for preserving food while reducing waste, including modeling and optimizing storage conditions based on different packaging solutions, and optimizing energy consumption in controlled atmosphere and refrigeration processes. Multiple projects contribute to this task, supported by various intervention directives.
As is well known, coffee is one of the most consumed products in the world. Through the roasting process, green coffee beans develop a distinctive aroma, and aromatic components must be preserved to ensure the infusion process and beverage production. There are various solutions for roasted coffee beans (sealed with a lid, vacuum-packed, etc.): coffee machines often feature a reservoir - sometimes removable, to hold the coffee beans to be ground. The purpose of this container is mainly to channel the product towards the grinder but, not less importantly, to preserve the roasted bean until its use.
One of the most impactful aspects, primarily environmental, on which it is possible to intervene by reducing waste production, particularly spent coffee pods, is to improve the efficiency of processing processes, with a consequent reduction in the consumption of coffee powder per portion. This study focuses mainly on the preservation system but also considers the dosing and infusion stages of the beverage.
Over the years, De’Longhi has already developed and tested systems capable of preserving coffee beans, avoiding waste production, and prolonging the shelf life of roasted coffee beans. With the COFESAVE project, they will further delve into this line of industrial research at various levels, collaborating with the National Research Council (CNR-ISPA) in defining protocols and analysis techniques.
What is the current status of the project? What results have been achieved so far, and what are the expected outcomes?
The project started with some delays but quickly aligned with the planned timeline. In the first phase, we mainly focused on analyzing scientific literature with our scientific partner, CNR-ISPA. Together with them, we developed a gas chromatographic analysis method that currently allows us to monitor "coffee aging," and thus its qualitative decay. To do this, it was necessary to develop dedicated prototypes and carefully select the methods for conducting experimental analyses. The measurement method will also allow us to compare other preservation systems and then move on to identifying a strategy to test in the machine that supports a reduction in coffee powder, and thus a reduction in waste produced.
De’Longhi is also heavily involved in the activities of Spoke 4, which is dedicated to food reformulation, the use of innovative and sustainable technologies, and the design of new foods considering emerging interindividual characteristics that drive the paradigm of personalized nutrition. What projects are you directly involved in?
In Spoke 4, we directly coordinate four research projects: SMARTY, NUTRICOFFEE, and ION-TECH.
These are all projects related to food and beverage preparation, hence their transformation through processes ranging from cooking and kneading to normal grinding and infusion processes. In all these processes, there is a common denominator: the relationship between "product" technology and "nutritional" properties of food. Correctly managing the technological part of the product is essential to support the consumer and improve food quality, optimizing its use and nutritional characteristics.
The SMARTY and ION-TECH projects are mainly aimed at product/process innovations. The SMARTY project involves studying fermentation processes, particularly investigating the fermentation of doughs with different flours and the repercussions on nutritional and sustainability aspects. This allows us to delve into the importance of the technological component, advanced sensors, and data-processing logic that one day can concretely support the home preparation of foods and doughs.
The second project, IONTECH, has a specific focus on the coffee grinding process and particularly on how technology can stimulate the extraction of molecules with potential health benefits for the consumer.
Finally, the NUTRICOFFEE project focuses more on the coffee beverage and the impact of extraction processes on molecules with positive repercussions on the consumer's health and diet. With the NUTRICOFFEE project, we are looking more closely at the topic of personalized, sustainable, and visionary nutrition - for the future consumer. This last study sees a close collaboration with the OBI-WAN-DIET project coordinated by the University of Parma.
In conclusion, with all these projects, we want to stimulate discussion and show how technology can revolutionize the preparation of foods and beverages, offering solutions that improve quality, sustainability, and consumer health.
New technologies and strategies to preserve roasted coffee beans and reduce food waste
Principal investigators
Referred to
Spoke 02Professor Daniele del Rio, Vice Rector for Research and Technology Transfer and President of the OnFoods Foundation, will participate on November 20 in one of the scheduled talks on Climate, Sustainability, and Energy.
In the fourth episode of *Food and Policies*, Maria Elide Vanutelli interviews Lucia Tecuta about her research on sustainable food choices and the psychological factors influencing them.
Evaluation of the mechanisms of action of bioactive compounds in plant-based foods. Dietary patterns, fertility, and longevity. Innovative approaches to creating functional foods.
