How to choose the right food on the base of composition and how much is important seasonality.

1. Food provenance and
composition...
...to achieve a
balanced food
choice.
Lauren Minne
Ali Attar
Giacomo Bonioli
Lorenzo Cinetto
Veronica Giannini

2. A few key-words ● SEASONALITY
● CLIMATE
● FOOD AVAILABILITY
● FOOD CHOICE
● NUTRIENTS
● BALANCE

3. Climate differences:
Are they sufficient to justify seasolity differences in our countries?

4. Food availability
Some questions
● Does seasonal availability depend
on climate?
● How do our countries’
consumer-behaviour respond to
seasonality and product
availability?
● What are our body’s nutrient
requirements?
● How can we achieve a balanced
food diet?

5. Seasonality

6. Seasonal products
are almost “Km 0”
products
Disadvantages
1. Shorter shelf life
2. Not developed certification and traceability
system
3. Seasonality (limited)
4. Require more attention in home preparation
5. Waste of unsold products
Advantages
1. Less intermediate passages
2. No more than 70 Km 0 far from the farm
3. Low costs for packaging and transport
4. Shorter transports less CO2 in the atmosphere
5. Help local farmers
6. Cultural aspects linked to the place of origin
7. More value to the little farmers
8. Less pollution because they are not cultivated
in green houses
9. Less exploitation of people
10. maintain the “Right Chronobiology” of the man

7. Maintain the Right
chronobiology of
man
● Humans need different nutrients in
different seasons
● Mostly related to micronutrients
● Is regulated from the “Pituitary
gland” a group of cells in the
Hypothalamus that received
external information darkness and
light.

8. Winter →
Spring →
Summer →
Autumn →
Vitamin C : to defeat cold and also allow the
absorption of the iron in the body. It helps in the
collagen formation.
Antioxidants, catechins,in the skins, they help
the health of the skins.
Potassium involved in the muscular contraction
(in spring we have more physical activity)
Copper for the health of the bones
Water to cover the water loss in summer, also
rich in minerals.
Citrullina, a compound very useful to balance
blood pressure
Vitamin A, a precursor of beta carotene, for
vision. In autumn the daylight is very limited.

9. Australia’s Fruit
Trade
Significant seasonality
between Australia and the
USA, with high imports of
fruits occurring in periods of
low domestic Australian
production

10. Australia’s
Vegetable Trade
Similarly, there are large
imports of vegetables in
periods of unfit seasonality

11. Reasons for
Australia’s Import
of Fresh Produce
● Declining climate conditions
● Price competitiveness - vegetable production is
cheaper in the USA and China
● 2014-2015 - vegetable imports increased by 7%,
domestic production decreased by 15%
● Overall, 5.3% increase per year in food imports
over the past 20 years

12. Seasonality in Italy
● Large price fluctuations in
seasonal produce
● Out of season produce difficult
to purchase at supermarkets
except at relatively high prices
Maximum and minimum wholesale prices of
seasonal selected products in Italy as of June 2017
(in euros)

13. Food Composition: MacroNutrients
COMMON PERCEPTION SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

14. Food Composition: MicroNutrients
FIBERVITAMINES AND MINERALS

15. Food Composition: Hidden Compounds
ADDITIVES
+ Vitamins
+ Mineral salts
+ Omega-3
+ Proteins
- Sugars
- Salt
Colourants?
Preservatives?
PESTICIDES
Always bad or sometimes
necessary?

16. Summary ● Seasonal changes influence the
availability of fresh produce
● Seasonal availability is less
evident in Australian supermarkets
than Italian due to imports
● Nutritional requirements can be
satisfied by eating seasonal
produce

17. ● Eat seasonably available produce
● Consumers - purchase this food selectively
○ 9 out of 10 Australian consumers prefer locally sourced products (Roy Morgan, 2016)
○ 1 in 2 Italian consumers are willing to buy produce from small supermarkets or directly from
producers (Nielson’s Global Brand Origin Survey, 2017)
Recommendations

18. Recommendations
● Supermarkets/Retailers - advertise the sale of local produce, and sell local goods
selectively
● Governments - investigate changes to taxation around local agriculture and food imports
○ Australia:
■ 82% of imported fruit from New Zealand and US (Australian Horticultural Exporters Association)
■ 47% of imported vegetables from China (AHES)
○ Italy:
■ 20% increase in imported fruits and nuts in 2016
■ Vegetables: US$17 billion imported vs US$12 billion exported (World Integrated Trade Solution, 2016)