One of the most important events on the annual calendar, the International Meat.Milk. Expo-Conference, which has earned real prestige both domestically and internationally, was held on May 27-28 at the Hotel Alpin in Poiana Brașov under the theme "The Balance between Technology, Costs, and Prices - A Chance for Romania's Meat and Dairy Sectors." The event enjoyed great and well-deserved success.

Dialogue with Authorities

At this 13th edition, attendees included livestock farmers, processors, suppliers of processing and packaging technologies, raw materials, laboratory technologies, logistics and transport solutions, representatives of professional associations (Romalimenta, ARC, APRIL, APCPR, FCBR, AMRCR, APAR), as well as top representatives of state institutions (MADR, ANSVSA, ANPC).

The general session on the morning of May 27 was opened by Mr. Laurențiu MITREA, General Director of infoGROUP, the event organizer, who welcomed the participants.

Subsequently, in front of the packed conference room, Ms. Elena TATOMIR, General Director of the Agriculture Payments Directorate within MADR, delivered a presentation announcing the ministry's latest actions to support livestock farmers and measures taken to assist processors in the two sectors.

Among the officials present, Mr. Ioan OLELEU, Vice President of ANSVSA, highlighted the results of recent control actions conducted under the agency's aegis, measures taken to strengthen food safety, and ANSVSA specialists' involvement in international cooperation actions aimed at eradicating ASF both internationally and especially in Romania.

Remaining in the realm of authority representatives, Mr. Paul Anghel, General Director of ANPC, gave a presentation on the morning of May 28, reviewing recent inspections and important considerations for economic agents.

Also noteworthy was the presentation by Professor Valter ENACHE from the Faculty of Food and Tourism at the University of Brașov, who discussed "Introducing the Food Defense Concept into the HACCP System to Strengthen Romania's Food Security."

Presentations

The International Meat.Milk. Expo-Conference 2024 provided numerous companies the opportunity to showcase their latest product and service offerings. Presentations included:

- Kaufland - Platinum Partner: Speaker: Valer HANCAȘ - Corporate Affairs

- EcoAktiv Agro - Platinum Partner: BioAktiv Professional - An effective and natural solution to reduce environmental pollution, with benefits in production and animal health; Speaker: Costel Adrian JIANU – General Manager.

- Comagrimpex B&B - Gold Partner: Omnia Technologies Group - Facilitating Evolution - Fully customized solutions from processing to end-of-line packaging; Speaker: George BADEA - Administrator.

- Facility Distrib - Gold Partner: Optimization, Efficiency, and Quality in the Meat and Dairy Sectors; Speaker: Laurențiu APROFIREI - National Sales Director.

- Tork by Easity: Tork for the food industry. Requirements, Sustainability, Concerns, Food and Employee Safety; Speaker: Adina BURCĂ - Industrial Key Account Manager.

- Frigotehnica SA - Silver Partner: Refrigeration Solutions from Frigotehnica; Speaker: Răzvan VOICU - Development Director.

- Dumagas Transport SA: Successful Strategies in Refrigerated Transport - Case Study Lidl, Sole Mizo, Smithfield, and Deib Services (Dăbuleni Melons); Speaker: Matei LADEA - Chairman of the Board.

- Inaq Consulting - Gold Partner: Latest IFS News: IFS Food 8 Doctrine and the new IFS ESG Check program; Speaker: Ionuț NACHE - General Manager.

- CMC Grup Risk Advisor: RISK MANAGEMENT - Challenges and Solutions for Food Business; Speaker: Marius MAIER – Owner.

- Carrefour - Retail Partner: Presenting Romanian Cheese; Speakers: Adriana IORGA - Fresh Products Procurement Manager, Alina DONICI - Managing Partner Artesana.

- Termoport - Silver Partner: Temperature Control for Transport; Speaker: Ștefan BERCARU - Commercial Director.

- Agroland Professional Farm: Portable NIR Technologies for Real-Time Instantaneous Feed Analyses and Solutions for Feed and Feeding Management in Ruminant Farms; Speaker: Dan ROBASCIUC - General Manager.

- Linde Gaz: CRYOLINE® RC Rapid Crust / Freezing Equipment for Rapid Slicing Crusting; Speaker: Leonard LEPĂDATU - Applications Engineer.

Movie Meat.Milk. Section

Since its inauguration in 2017, the Movie Meat.Milk. section has been a real success, with many companies opting to showcase their activities, products, and services through screenings in the conference hall. This year featured clips from Agricola Bacău, Romfracht, Cargill, Frisomat, CSB System, Salbac SA, Diana, Kosarom, Xylem, and Baroncini.

Debates

The afternoon of May 27 was reserved for discussions on the most pressing issues in the two sectors:

- DAIRY Farmers/Processors: The impact of legislative and fiscal turmoil on the dairy sector; Speakers: Elena TATOMIR - Director MADR, Dorin COJOCARU - President APRIL, Petru BORDEAN - President FCBR, Daniel FREI - President Bovicoop.

- MEAT Farmers/Processors: How can a Meat Law help a sector on the brink of collapse? Speakers: Dana TĂNASE - Executive Director ARC, Adrian BALABAN - Vice President APCPR.

- Retail Forum: How beneficial can the cap on commercial markups be for all food products made in Romania?; Invited Speakers: Paul ANGHEL - General Director ANPC, Ștefan PĂDURE - President APAR, George BĂDESCU - Executive Director AMRCR.

The final debate, but full of significance, was the "Women's Business Council" session, featuring Ruxandra Laura COC - Manager Doripesco, Alina DONICI - Managing Partner Artesana, Carmen GAVRILESCU - President APSSR, and Maria VERDEȘI - Manager Zimbria, who discussed "The Condition of Women in Today's Business Environment."

Expo Section

The expo area of the conference was bustling, with all exhibition spaces occupied. The following companies were present at the stands: Aqua D&P, ACVBR, Biotrend Plus, Comagrimpex B&B, Cris-Tim, Dumagas Transport, Ecoaktiv Agro, Elopak, Facility Distrib, Fotometric Instruments, Five Continents, Hanna Instruments, Lactate Brădet, Horeco, Mirdatod, Perutnina Ptuj, Romfracht, Rota Guido, Sika, Tag Production, Testo, Termoport, Tork by Easity, and Tremco.

Gala of Meat.Milk. Excellence Awards

At this edition, the infoGROUP agency awarded the Excellence Awards. This year's winners were:

- FACILITY DISTRIB SRL, for the exceptional quality of technological solutions provided to Romania's meat and dairy sectors and the food industry in general.

- DUMAGAS TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS SA, for the high standard of quality in providing innovative and efficient logistics and transport solutions.

- TORK SRL, for excellence in providing industrial hygiene solutions, especially those intended for the food industry.

- ELOPAK, for excellence in approaching the sustainability concept of packaging technology for the food industry.

The event concluded with an official tour of the stands, during which Ms. Elena Tatomir and Ms. Ioana Constantinescu from MADR interacted with company representatives and reviewed the latest products and services presented at the stands.

Details can be found in the recordings posted on the Meat.Milk. Expo-Conference and magazine Facebook page, as well as in the Meat.Milk. shows broadcast every Friday evening from 7 to 8 PM.