MONTANA ALIMENTARI: the "Premio Montana alla Ricerca Alimentare" (Montana Prize for Food Research) awarded.

The sought-after honour, with a value of 100,000 Euro, was won by a researcher of the Burlo Garofolo Maternal-infantile hospital of Trieste with a study to overcome malnutrition in Africa.

Special mentions with a value of 10,000 Euro for two researchers of the University of Salerno and Naples (Federico II).

The "Premio Montana alla Ricerca Alimentare" (this year was the third edition) was awarded today in Milan. It was instituted in 2006 by Montana Alimentari with the objective of supporting young Italian researchers, encouraging scientific research on food and to exceed the current confines of knowledge in this field.

The honour, equal to a value of 100,000 Euro, went to the researcher Marzia Lazzerini of the Institute of Hospitalisation and Care of a Scientific Character of the Burlo Garofolo maternal and infantile hospital of Trieste, who completed research entitled "Food technologies for innovation in development cooperation: implementation of the local production of ready-to-use foods for the care and prevention of infantile malnutrition in Angola".

The winning research was chosen by an independent scientific jury, chaired by Prof. Paolo Aureli (research executive of the Superior Health Institute), which selected over 70 researches originating from universities and centres of excellence throughout Italy. The other members of the jury were Prof. Carlo Cannella, Full Professor of Food Science of the "La Sapienza" University of Rome and President of INRAN - the National Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Prof. Giulio Testolin (Nutritionist of the Milan University), Prof. Stefano Cinotti (Director General of the Experimental Animal Disease Control And Prevention Institute of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna), Prof. Fulvio Marzatico (lecturer on Food and Dietetics of the Pharmabiochemistry Laboratory, Pavia University), Dr. Loris Zaghini (Director of the Animal Origin Food Hygiene Area of the Mantua ASL (Local Health Authority) and Mr. Paolo Berselli (Chairman of Salumi d'Emilia s.r.l. and Operations Manager of Montana Alimentari S.p.A). Participating at the prize-giving ceremony were Cav. Luigi Cremonini, Chairman of the Cremonini Group, and Mr. Giorgio Pedrazzi, Chairman of Montana Alimentari.

The criteria used for the determination of the winner were the originality of the research and its innovative character, applicability of the result of the research, the quality of the scientific methodology adopted and closeness of the research to the concrete requirements of the consumer.

The jury also attributed a special extraordinary mention, of a value of 10,000 Euro, to two other researchers: Francesco Donsì of ProdAl Scarl of the Salerno University, for the "Nanoincapsulamento di composti nutraceutici per la realizzazione di alimenti funzionali" (Dwarf encapsulation of nutraceutical composites for the production of functional foods) research, and Antonietta La Storia of the Department of Food Sciences of the Agrarian Faculty of the Federico II University of Naples, for the "Packaging antimicrobico per the confezionamento di carne fresca" (Anti-microbe packaging for fresh meat) research.

"We are particularly satisfied with the award of the Montana Prize for Food Research, now the third edition - explained Giorgio Pedrazzi, Chairman of Montana Alimentari. This year the principal honour was awarded to work of particular social value, witnessing that scientific research can offer operating solutions even to very significant practical problems, such as that of malnutrition of African children. In view of the quality and excellence of the work presented, the jury had to make an in-depth selection of the over 70 researches submitted to choose the final winner. The decision to award two special mentions as well is a witness to the validity demonstrated by the researchers who participated in the Prize, individually or in a group. The objective - concluded Pedrazzi - was fully achieved: thanks to the Prize it was possible to give visibility to research connected with food and contribute to its promotion. It is a result that encourages us to continue on this road, with the publication of the announcement for the new 2010 edition".

The announcement for the fourth edition of the Premio Montana will be available on the www.montanafood.it site from 1 July. The honour, of a value of 100,000 Euro, must be subdivided into equal parts between the researcher (or the research group) and the public or private research institute to which they belong (or another indicated by the researcher), which is legally situated in Italy. The funds destined for the research institute must be invested in the support of research.

Montana Alimentari S.p.A., a company controlled by Inalca JBS (Cremonini Group), is amongst the leaders in the sector of production, marketing and distribution of cured meats, snacks and ready-to-eat gastronomy, with over 230 products. Montana Alimentari is today the second operator in the Italian canned meat market with a share of over 21%. The company achieved revenues of 195.7 million Euro in 2008.

Milan, 10 June 2009

Contacts:
Luca Macario
Cremonini Group Press Office
luca.macario@cremonini.com - Tel. 059 754630