In the new issue of the magazine you can read: with continuity, partnership and shared responsibility, UHT works for the industry – an interview with the rector, Prof. Galin Ivanov; which trends are changing consumer appetite?; what to expect from beverages in 2026?; an end to false can volumes; how to protect ourselves from cybercriminals?; an interesting scientific article about fruit juice producers, many new features and other information for HVP subscribers…

Dear Ladies and Sirs,
Bulgarien is a wine country with 4,000 years of tradition – and ranks as one of today’s absolute insider tips. With enormous efforts and huge investments into vineyards, cellar technology and marketing the 250 wineries have not just caught up with international standards, but are winning medals at competitions like never before. Please join us for a journey to indigenous grave varietals as Pamid, Misket, Dimyat, Gamza, Mavrud and Shiroka Melnishka Loza as well as to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

In three Master Classes Top Sommelier Markus Berlinghof – just back from a trip to Bulgaria – will show you at the booth of Bulgarian Wine Chamber in hall 15 J21, where the country stands today in terms of viticulture and enology. At a “Bulgarian Night”, starting at 6 pm on the first evening of the fair, you will have the additional opportunity to get in contact with the representatives of the eleven wineries, along with finger food from the Balkans.

Events at a glance:

Sunday, March 13 

2.00 – 2.30 pm       Master Class with Markus Berlinghof „Hidden gems from the Balkans“

5.00 – 5.30 pm       Cocktail reception Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2016 in Plovdiv

6.00 – 9.00 pm       “Bulgarian Night” with presentation of eleven signature wines
Monday, March 14 

11.00 – 11.30 am    Master Class with Markus Berlinghof „Hidden gems from the Balkans“

4.00 – 4.30 pm       Master Class with Markus Berlinghof „Hidden gems from the Balkans“

For all events it is compulsory to sign in – there’s only a limited number of seats. So please register by contacting: stephanie.reiss@xenos-comm.de

With best regards
Thomas Brandl
xenos-comm

“The wine sector is a leader in agriculture in Bulgaria and deserves to take its place in the development of the country’s economic policy,” announced Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Rumen Porodzanov at the opening of the 40th World Congress of Wine and Vine, held in Sofia. Conducting the congress in Bulgaria will increase exports significantly in the coming year. An event of this magnitude gives a rare opportunity to popularize Bulgarian wine and Bulgaria as a wine destination. “The forum will contribute to shaping future policies in the sector in the coming years and the presence of key guests will increase the interest in Bulgarian wines,” the minister said. In his words, hosting this event will give us a unique opportunity to present the native wines to the world. He appealed to continue working towards the direction Bulgaria not only to be preferred, but also a favorite tourist destination. Minister Porodzanov expressed confidence that the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry will continue to work actively to achieve this.

Tourism Minister Ms. Nikolina Angelkova welcomed the participants in the Congress and highlighted the growing importance of native wine production in the world. She pointed out that our country is leading an effective policy in positioning Bulgaria as a major tourist brand.

The event was also attended by Prof. Dr. Monika Christmann, President of the International Vine and Wine Organization, Mr. Jean-Marie Aurand, Director-General of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Dr.Tsvetan Dimitrov, Executive Director of the Executive Agency for Vine and Wine Mr. Krasimir Koev and the President of the National Vine and Wine Chamber Mr .Radoslav Radev. More than 1000 delegates attended the congress.

“We should find a way to solve the problem of imbalance of the increased raw milk production in the European Union, and consider sustainable and even declining consumption. This trend exists and continues being the same, “stated Minister of Agriculture and Food Desislava Taneva at the sitting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries ministers in Brussels.
Desislava Taneva pointed out that one of the possible solutions is seeking new markets in third countries in order to achieve sustainable prices for farmers. “It is necessary to think about steps towards dropping the Russian embargo,” specified she.
In her opinion, farmers must voluntarily limit the volume of production, as a tool for overcoming the existing imbalance and added that farmers can also reorganize their activities in a way that would bring them income from the European funds, not from the crisis budget, “she added further.
 Minister Taneva urged her colleagues to come up with a decision and a clear message to the farming communities. “This will help animal breeders in each country to voluntarily reduce their production volumes and look for ways to improve their competitiveness,” added Taneva.
Minister also commented the crisis in Fruits and Vegetables sector saying that the Turkish embargo will have its impact on the market yet this season. She suggested in the list of withdrawn fruit quantities cherries to be included. Thus Member States will be able to redirected unused amounts of allowances.
Desislava Taneva proposed the amounts under the school fruit and school milk schemes to be increased, because it will lead to increased consumption.

“For more than three years, the proposal for  organic production regulation has been discussed at expert and political level, and many tripartite meetings have been held with the European Parliament. Bulgaria appreciates its efforts to continue the dialogue so as to allow one more chance for a compromise, ” announced Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Rumen Porodanov at the meeting of the Council of the European Union on Agriculture and Fisheries, held on 12 June 2017 in Luxembourg.

A serious problem for Bulgaria remains regulations on unauthorized substances in organic products. We maintain the position expressed so far, namely to prevent unauthorized substances in organic products, no matter what is the reason – accidentally or by fault of the operator.

“In our opinion, the most important factor that stimulates consumption and increase in the production and distribution of organic food is consumers’ confidence.The interest in this production in Bulgaria is huge, but organic producers insist on security, “Minister Porozhanov said.

Like Bulgaria, the majority of EU member states spoke in favor of continuing the discussion a proposal for a new organic agriculture regulation rather than for its withdrawal.During the meeting  in Luxembourg, the EC informed the Council of Ministers of the current situation in agricultural markets.

По http://www.mzh.government.bg/

Всеки ден около 30 000 тона прясна храна се губят в цяла Европа поради неточно планиране на търсенето в търговията на дребно с храни и хранителните услуги.  Изключително свежите продукти, със срок на годност, вариращ от само няколко часа до един ден, изискват изцяло нова категория решения за прогнозиране. Foodforecast (Прогноза за храна), немска компания за хранителни технологии, се справя с това предизвикателство чрез базирано на AI прогнозиране на търсенето и производството и досега е осигурила 8 милиона € финансиране от Серия А. Кръгът се води от влиятелния инвеститор SHIFT Invest от Холандия и европейския VC ECBF, действащ като съ-водещ. Съществуващите инвеститори Future Food Fund и Aeronaut Invest също участват в увеличението.
“Тази серия A представлява важен крайъгълен камък за Foodforecast – казва Юстус Лаутен, основател и главен изпълнителен директор. – Нашата амбиция е да преосмислим фундаментално как се планира и произвежда ултра-прясна храна. С нашите нови инвеститори на борда, ние сме готови да мащабираме технологията в международен план и да поставим нов еталон за планиране, ефективност и устойчивост.”

Подхранване на  международния растеж и готово за предприятия разширяване
Инвестицията от серия A ще позволи на Foodforecast да разшири присъствието си на европейските пазари и по-нататъшно разпространение на мащаба сред МСП и корпоративни клиенти в хранително-вкусовата промишленост, веригите пекарни и търговията на дребно с храни, позволявайки по-интелигентни производствени решения, които намаляват отпадъците и подобряват маржовете. Тийс Гитманс, партньор в SHIFT Invest, добавя: “Foodforecast се откроява като рядка комбинация от амбиция, пазарно разбиране и изпълнение. Екипът се справя с голям структурен проблем във веригите за доставка на ултра пресни храни с AI решение, което е едновременно много сложно и лесно за изпълнение. Този баланс прави Foodforecast изключително добре позициониран за мащабируем международен растеж.”

Доказана ефективност в хиляди  магазини
От пускането му в търговската мрежа през 2022 г. Foodforecast се разрасна бързо и сега се използва в няколко хиляди магазина в цяла Европа. Клиентите са водещи оператори на хранителни услуги, пекарни и търговия на дребно като SSP Germany и Eat Happy. Чрез осигуряване на високо автоматизирани процеси на производство и поръчки, Foodforecast  помага на своите клиенти не само да намалят хранителните отпадъци средно с до 30%, но и да увеличат продажбите с до 11% и да автоматизират повече от 90% от предишните ръчни поръчки и производствени процеси. Технологията на компанията е проектирана да  се интегрира безпроблемно в съществуващите работни процеси, което позволява на екипите да намалят отпадъците, без да добавят оперативна сложност. Включена в пресечната точка на AI, икономика и устойчивост, Устойчивостта остава основен стълб на бизнес модела на Foodforecast. Чрез подобряване на точността на прогнозата, компанията дава възможност на своите клиенти да използват ресурсите по-ефективно, да ограничат емисиите и измеримо да намалят хранителните отпадъци, което води до повече от 8800 тона спестени хранителни отпадъци до момента. В мащаб този подход има потенциала да спести десетки хиляди тонове храна годишно, като същевременно намалява емисиите и подобрява рентабилността по цялата верига на стойността.
“Устойчивостта не е добавка, а неразделна част от предложението за стойност – казва Изабел Лоренсин, партньор в ECBF. –  Foodforecast ясно демонстрира как AI може да генерира както икономическа стойност, така и измеримо въздействие.“
Тази операция се ползва от подкрепа от Европейския съюз по линия на фонд InvestEU.

По https://www.yumda.com/

Bulgaria was the first country submitted an application for hosting the World Congress of Vine and Wine in 2017, it became clear at a meeting between Agriculture Minister Desislava Taneva and the International Organization of Vine and Wine’s (OIV) General Director, Jean-Marie Aurand. During the meeting minister Taneva officially presented a letter, expressing Bulgaria’s desire and readiness to organize and host the event. Taneva expressed her satisfaction with the excellent cooperation between her Ministry and the OIV. “We hope that this prestigious forum takes place in Bulgaria. This will be an exceptional opportunity to exchange experience, she said, adding that the Congress will allow Bulgaria to present itself as a good wine destination.

“Your country is the first to submit its proposal on paper. We believe that the event will take place in your country because Bulgaria has endless possibilities and such a presentation will allow more people convince themselves in that, “Aurand noted.

The 40th World Congress of Vine and Wine will take place in 2017, along with the 15th General Assembly of the OIV. It will be held over a period of eight days and will gather over 1,000 representatives from OIV member states. The event is attended by the international scientific community and administration, who are working in the sector, along with merchants and journalists. The policies and future development of the sector are discussed and defined during the event. The OIV is an intergovernmental organisation of a scientific and technical nature of recognised competence for its works concerning vines, wine, wine-based beverages, table grapes, raisins and other vine-based products. Fourty-six different countries, 21 of which are EU Member States, are members of the Organisation.

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Rumen Porodzanov met in Ankara with the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Turkey Ahmet Fakıbaba. The two officials discussed the opportunities for increased trade in agricultural products. During the meeting, the ministers reviewed the current situation in the livestock breeding sector in order to increase trade.

Minister Porodzanov and his Turkish counterpart have agreed to cooperate in different spheres, as well as to exchange experience in the field of seed selection and innovations as in planting material.

Both have reached to an agreement to hold a joint Agriculture Committee in Ankara during September this year. The working groups on the organization of the event will start work from next week.

Dear Reader,
A few days ago, I came across a quote on social media shared by a lady who runs a business in our industry. Besides being remarkably accurate, it somehow reminded me of the anniversary of our magazine: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Because surviving for 75 years in the highly specialized media market is not only difficult—it is only possible when you have never been alone. I can say this with confidence, as I have personally been part of this journey for more than 25 years.
There is only one thing I can say: Thank you!
Thank you to all the companies and professionals in the food and beverage industry who have supported us through subscriptions and advertising. Thank you to the industry associations that have stood by us whenever they could. Thank you to the scientific community, and especially to the University of Food Technologies, for sharing their research achievements in our pages, helping our business readers stay up to date with the latest developments in food science.

In short, FPI Magazine (published under different titles throughout the years) has reached its 75th anniversary because, I firmly believe, we have traveled this road together.

And since we are at the beginning of summer, I would like to extend an invitation for the autumn: Join us on October 29 at the House of Science and Technology in Sofia as we celebrate this remarkable anniversary!

I will not hide the fact that, for this initiative as well, we are counting on your support. This is also the perfect opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the management of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria, who were the first to respond to our appeal by becoming the Platinum Sponsor of the event.

But while anniversaries deserve celebration, our dedicated team continues to work for you throughout the summer. Preparations are well underway for the 18th National Competition for the Best Packaging – PRIZ PAK 2026, as well as the National Conference “Trends in Food and Beverage Packaging – Safety, Quality, Sustainability and Regulations.” The Competition Awards Ceremony and the Conference will take place during our anniversary celebration. We warmly invite you to submit your entries for the Competition and to register for the Conference.

I would also like to invite you to join us on a trip to Istanbul this October, where, alongside the renowned IBAKTECH exhibition, visitors will also have the opportunity to attend the Eurasia Packaging Istanbul Fair and Food-Tech Eurasia.

You can find more information about these events on our website: https://fpim-bg.org/.

On behalf of our entire team, I wish you a wonderful summer and hope to see you again soon!
Petko Delibeev
Editor-in-Chief

Minister of Agriculture and Food Desislava Taneva met with Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Alexander Tkachev on the sidelines of the 20th St Petersburg International Economic Forum. During the meeting, Minister Taneva expressed the willingness of the leadership of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food for the further development of bilateral cooperation in agriculture and food, using the opportunities that both countries have for modern, export-oriented agriculture. ” Bulgaria’s entire agricultural community is most concerned about the lifting of sanctions and wants to know if companies which exported goods before the embargo will be able to use the old approvals or will have to apply for new ones,” said Minister Taneva.

She thanked for the setting up of a working group on agriculture at the 15th meeting of the Bulgarian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. “The establishment of this working group is a good basis for building strong bilateral relations useful both for Bulgarian and for Russian business,” said Minister Taneva.

Minister of Agriculture informed that the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency had received applications from many new companies which want to trade with Russia once the sanctions are lifted. She asked her Russian counterpart for information on the unilateral ban on import of plants, plant products and other, not subject to the sanctions on Russia, accompanied by Bulgarian phytosanitary certificates.

During the meeting discussed a proposal for a working meeting with representatives of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance to clarify the unilateral ban on the phytosanitary certificates for plant products not subject to the sanctions.

Minister Taneva and Minister Alexander Tkachov talked about Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, issued on May 27, 2016 with which meat and vegetables intended for the production of baby foods are excluded from the list of food items prohibited for import. According to the Decree, imports of these products for baby food are allowed upon confirmation of their purpose, as importers will have to prove that products entering Russia are intended for children’s consumption. The Russian side announced that they are currently discussing the regulations on procedures to implement this Decree.

Desislava Taneva pointed out that ompanies with Russian participation had invested nearly 35 million euro in vineyards and wineries, benefiting from EU programmes. Similar investments have been made in vegetable processing, and interest has recently been shown in tobacco processing.