Germany, France, Italy and Belgium will be the four teams representing Europe at the next edition of the Gelato World Cup, scheduled to take place at SIGEP World 2026. The selection ended yesterday at SIGEP World, Italian Exhibition Group’s event ongoing at Rimini Expo Centre until Wednesday, January 22^nd. All eight participating teams paraded on the Gelato Arena stage before the final positions were announced. A rejoiceful Germany, which took first place, was followed by France and Italy (the Italian team is composed of Alessandro Racca, Gabriele Fiumara and Angelo Cardella), while fourth place went to Belgium, thus completing the selection of European teams that will participate for Europe in next year’s world final.  

Aibi and Assitol: Annual Italian production of bread and bakery products at 2 million tons

Aibi (Italian Bakery Ingredients Association) and Assitol (Italian Oil Industry Association) organized a well-attended debate at SIGEP World among industry insiders with the meeting entitled Tradition and Innovation: the perfect blend for the modern bakery. The meeting covered the main consumption trends for bakery products, such as the search for freshness, craftsmanship, aesthetics, attention to health and “plant-based” sustainability, and provided an opportunity to communicate the industry’s 2024 figures: the production of bread and bakery products amounted to about 2 million tons; the Italian market for ingredients for bread, pizza and pastries reached 250,000 tons; and ingredient exports exceeded 70,000 tons. The analysis also looked at how declining demographics, flexible opening times and societal change have led to the bakery bistro model, a multitasking establishment that offers bread and pastries from breakfast until aperitif time. Alberto Molinari, president of AIBI, Palmino Poli, president of Assitol, and Enrico and Ilaria Giacomazzi, owners of a historic bakery-pastry shop in Parma, participated in the discussion, moderated by Andrea Carrassi, general manager of Assitol.

Coffee arena: Winners of CIBC-Italian Barista Caffetteria Championship and Italian Cup Tasters’ Championship announced

Twenty-seven-year-old Daniele Ricci from Brescia, Italy, is the 2025 winner of the CIBC-Italian Baristi Caffetteria Championship, one of the competitions of reference held at SIGEP World. Second and third places went to Filippo Guarneri, 26, also from Brescia, and Irene Giupponi, a 22-year-old from Bergamo. The competition, held yesterday in the Coffee Arena, consisted of preparing four espressos, four coffee and hot milk drinks, and four customised espresso-based soft drinks in a maximum time of 15 minutes to be served to a panel of expert judges. The championship is valid for the WBC (World Barista Championship), the “Barista Olympics,” based on the same rules. 

The Italian Cup Tasters Championship, in which Marco Paccagnella, 38 and currently living in Barcelona, Spain, triumphed. The silver medal went to Luigi Paternoster, 36, from Gravina in Puglia, while Flavio D’Onofrio, 33, from Pomigliano d’Arco, took the bronze. The competitors proved their ability to distinguish taste differences between eight sets of three cups each of Specialty Coffee in the shortest possible time. The championship is valid for the WCTC (World Cup Tasters Championship).

PPWR: A revolution for packaging in the food service sector?

The regulation on packaging and packaging waste has come into force, marking a major change for the food service sector. After a long debate among legislators, technicians and associations, the regulation has introduced new sensitivities and requirements for consumers and producers. Andrea Vittadello and Francesca Faraon from Mérieux NutriSciences Italia, together with Celmira Susana Sousa, EU public affairs director at NatureWorks, held a discussion at SIGEP World to analyse the main objectives with a focus on the impact of compostable products, such as coffee capsules and tea bags, even when combined with paper. Compliance criteria for compostability, paper recyclability and reusability in line with food safety were explored in depth.