The traditional productions

The “traditional business” category is represented by companies with a local and family background.

The majority of companies operating in the agribusiness sector in Sardinia belong to this “category”. More than 100 of these have participated in business innovation initiatives organised by Porto Conte Ricerche over the past 5 years.

The sectors mainly covered by Porto Conte Ricerche are:

Bakery products

The bakery products sector in Sardinia includes various types of traditional cakes and breads, produced by several companies, most of which are small (family size), with some of medium dimensions.With regard to bread, Sardinia has a long tradition of durum wheat cultivation and of bread making. Some traditional products, such as Carasau bread, are famous all over the world and are produced by companies that export to Italy and to other countries. All the flour varieties used are produced by mills within the region, although only a part of the wheat that is milled is grown in Sardinia.The industry is faced with various problems, ranging from an incomplete knowledge of the raw materials and their suitability for various bakery products to a growing need to extend the shelf life of the products and improve their quality.For this industrial sector, Porto Conte Ricerche conducts studies on the shelf life of durum wheat flour and of the various traditional bread varieties, and develops bread-making systems based on the use of natural yeast. With regard to traditional confectionery products, one of the main problems expressed by bakeries is that of extending their shelf life. The acceptance of the products by mass retail chains requires a shelf life that, in the case of traditional cakes, can only be achieved through special production and packaging systems. Thus Porto Conte Ricerche intervenes to support companies that need to extend the shelf life of their products, both with technical advice and the development of research projects aimed at increasing the product shelf life.

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Brewing

The field of research with its interest and investment focused on craft beer is relatively young but is involved in a rapidly expanding market. There are currently more than 900 microbreweries and brewpubs in Italy, 23 of which are in Sardinia.Porto Conte Ricerche is the first research centre in Sardinia to engage in activities on behalf of the regional brewing system. A survey of this rapidly growing phenomenon began in 2008, culminating in the cluster project “Process and product innovation in craft beers” in 2009. This initiative was aimed at monitoring local production in order to provide useful information to improve the production and marketing of craft beers. The survey included studies on the shelf life of the products, identifying critical factors during the production phases. Issues were also addressed related to the development of certain products intended for long maturation, through an evaluation of the aroma profile.Over the following years, in response to the needs of producers involved in the research activities at the Centre, attention was directed toward the characterisation of local raw materials, such as hops and barley. More recently, the objective has been to provide manufacturers with appropriate tools for monitoring the production system, through the use of biosensors.

Fresh pasta

Italy is the world’s leading producer of pasta. Dried pasta is the main product, while packaged fresh pasta, estimated at about 143,500 tons in 2010, continues to show a positive trend in sales, with an average annual growth of 6%. Forty-three percent of the fresh pasta consists of fresh filled pasta.In Sardinia, we have various types of fresh filled pasta produced by numerous small or medium-sized artisan businesses. Also in this sector, the main problem faced by companies concerns the shelf life of the product.The Porto Conte Ricerche researchers at the Food Processing and Shelf life Laboratories support companies in this sector in the process of product innovation and improvement, particularly through the planning and implementation of projects for clusters of businesses.

Livestock productions

Livestock production is a vital element of Sardinia’s agricultural economy, accounting for over 70% of the sector’s entire annual added value. Porto Conte Ricerche is engaged in R&D activities for fish farming (see section on Mariculture) but is also deeply involved in the sector of small ruminant productions.Sheep and goats are the main livestock species in Sardinia, with over 3 million sheep and almost 300,000 goats, accounting for 42% and 30% of the respective national totals. Sheep and goats are mainly farmed in Sardinia for the production of milk, which is almost entirely used for cheese making. Given the importance of this sector, it is essential to provide tools that allow the monitoring and improvement of the parameters affecting animal health and productivity, as well as for ensuring the quality of milk and dairies.Adding to animal health, the contribution of Porto Conte Ricerche in terms of experimentation, research and innovation in this field covers also several technological and functional aspects of dairy products. Concerning animal health, the research and development activities carried out in the centre have enabled the identification of new markers for mastitis, a disease with a significant impact on the amount and quality of milk produced, with relevant economic consequences for the farmers.As a result, novel diagnostic systems are now being implemented that enable the early and sensitive detection of the disease, with devices specifically adapted for use in the field or in the laboratory. As for the technological aspects, the Proteomics and Diagnostic Systems Laboratories have developed analytical methods enabling the detailed analysis of the milk protein composition, a factor directly related to milk quality and cheese yield. Concerning functional aspects, important results have been obtained in the characterisation of bioactive peptides that are found in Sardinian cheese in relation to production process variables, and specifically to the use of raw milk rather than heat-treated milk for cheesemaking.

Mariculture

In recent decades, aquaculture has been a boom industry in terms of revenue, the number of businesses and the area of coastline allocated to licensed operators. Aquaculture is the only sustainable alternative to fishing, which is now over-exploited, and is therefore necessary to sustain the growing world population. The aquaculture products sold on the market represent a compromise between quality and the cost of feed (e.g. raw materials, formula), the growth performance of the fish (e.g. weight gain, feed conversion factor, survival), climatic and environmental conditions in the production site and the welfare of consumers and the fish themselves.However, the price of aquaculture products is now strongly influenced by the quantities available on the market, rather than the objective parameters that determine the actual quality of the product.Since 2006, Porto Conte Ricerche has been working on a project for full characterisation of the growth, nutritional quality and welfare of the farmed fish. For this purpose, feeds of different composition are purchased or specifically formulated and tested in offshore cages and in the Blue Biotechnology Laboratory in the research centre. The laboratory features a system of recirculation tanks in which all the main water parameters (e.g. salinity, oxygen, temperature, flow, pH) are constantly monitored. The digestibility of feeds is analysed using special metabolic chambers, and the composition of the fish is analysed through a multidisciplinary approach and use of the various laboratories at the research centre.For this industrial sector, Porto Conte Ricerche conducts studies on raw materials and new generation feed formulas, based on the use of high quality vegetable flours, fish and sea food waste from industrial processing, and the use of animal meal. Preparative chemistry protocols for sample analysis (muscle, organs and biofluids) are optimised to ensure that the analytical result accurately reflects the composition of the live fish; nuclear magnetic resonance analyses allow molecular studies on the lipid profile (lipid classes, fatty acids and positional distribution of fatty acids) and polar metabolites, while chromatography (TLC, GC) provides complementary results on the fat components. Lipids are a very important class of compounds for the definition of the sensory and nutritional profile of fish. Proteomic studies on the liver and blood serum allow differentially expressed proteins to be detected in fish raised in different farming conditions (different feeds or food rations, effects of disease or different temperatures), allowing the association with fish wellbeing markers.Statistical analysis of experimental data, including the application of new algorithms for multivariate statistical analysis and visualisation of metabolic pathways, allows the discrimination of fish raised under different farming conditions, identification of the discriminating factors (molecular biomarkers, morphological features) associated with the type of farming and identification of objective quality parameters for the commercial product. Metabolomic investigations based on NMR are an effective tool for defining the molecular mechanisms influenced by the farming.

Wine production

Sardinia now occupies a stable position of prestige on the national wine scene.This is not only due to the level of quality achieved by the production of varieties such as Vermentino and Cannonau, but also to policies for the promotion of minor local varieties. Information on the potential of the grapes, even before they arrive at the grape cooperative, are strategic for obtaining quality wines. Successful management of a large quantity of forecast data, including the development of polyphenolic fraction, particularly with regard to red grapes, has proven strategic in this perspective. The contribution of polyphenols to the colour, characterisation of the bouquet and flavour, and the clear link that some compounds establish with the vines, the territories of origin and the wines they produce, are some of the topics examined by the research.For this industrial sector, Porto Conte Ricerche conducts projects aimed at the molecular characterisation of the grape varieties grown on the island. This has included the development of projects aimed at acquiring information on the polyphenol metabolism of the Cannonau variety, and others for the creation of antocianic profiles of certain minor red grape varieties.