SAN JOSE, California, Sept. 16, 2015 –Barilla Group, the makers of Barilla brand pastas and sauces, is embracing the Internet of Everything (IoE) to provide consumers the ability to trace the entire chain of production for the ingredients in their food, from where it was grown to how it arrived on the store shelf. Barilla worked with Cisco, Penelope S.p.A. and NTT DATA to implement a new technology platform called Safety for Food (S4F). Powered by the software ValueGo^®, the platform enables consumers to scan a QR code on the back of limited edition Farfalle Pasta and Tomato and Basil Sauce packages to easily access a website that tells the story of the specific production batch, through a detailed analysis of all major phases of the supply chain. Consumers can find the limited edition Barilla pasta and sauce packages at the Coop Supermarket of the Future, part of the Future Food District at EXPO 2015 in Milan. 

ValueGo® , developed by Penelope S.p.A, is the core system of the Safety for Food project, with specific agri-food vertical features for compliance checking, tracking and tracing of all food information along the entire supply chain and for building a ‘digital passport’ for food products.

“The Internet of Everything changes the way we farm, produce, distribute and consume food; making it more transparent and therefore safer,” said Agostino Santoni, CEO of Cisco Italia. “The Safety for Food initiative aims to provide a global database of food products and greater traceability of agricultural food production, according to international standards on food safety, quality and origin of raw materials. We are thrilled to be part of such an important initiative that is improving consumers’ lives by using IoE technologies to help solve real world issues as important as food transparency and safety.”

By scanning the QR code on the back of the Barilla packages, consumers can follow the path of the pasta they will eat from the ground to the grocer.  For example, consumers can follow the package from the durum wheat field to learn where and how it was cultivated and harvested to the packaging and labeling of the finished product. The integrated tracking system helps to combat counterfeiting in the food supply chain and gives consumers greater transparency and traceability of their food.

“Through this innovative initiative, we aim to not only provide greater transparency and safety in the supply chain, but to also give consumers a greater connection to their food,” said Giorgio Beltrami, Quality, Food Safety and Regulatory Global Director of Barilla. “By following the story of the specific batch of Barilla pasta or sauce they are enjoying, consumers can better correlate the food with the culture of the area in which it was born. As a family-owned company making quality Italian food for almost 140 years, it fills us with great pride to share that culture with our customers.”

Cisco has collaborated with non-governmental organizations, technology partners and experts in food supply chains to create the Safety for Food initiative, which provides access to data from across the entire agricultural food chain. Innovative food companies like Barilla are taking the lead to use the data and analytics to break through information silos across their supply chains and provide consumers with greater transparency into the sources of their food.

"We’re extremely pleased that our ValueGo technology is helping power the Safety for Food platform,” said Francesco Marandino, Managing Director of Penelope S.p.A. "By simplifying the process of accessing real-time supply chain information, ValueGo allows consumers, by reading a smart label, to know the full history of the products they purchase. With the help of ValueGo, Barilla, which has always made food safety and sustainability an important part of their operations, will be able to create a true ‘digital identity card’ to identify and track the specific production lots of two widely-used consumer products.”

“Consumers today expect more transparent communication and social responsibility from the companies they do business with,” said Walter Ruffinoni, CEO of NTT DATA Italy. “Through the Safety for Food initiative, Barilla makes their products “speak”, telling the journey of the food supply chain. The fact that an Italian company like Barilla has embraced this project fills us with pride and demonstrates the importance of using digital technologies in new and innovative ways to not only improve transparency but also give consumers greater access to the information they desire when making purchasing decisions.”

The Safety for Food platform implemented by Barilla is a clear example of how the Internet of Everything has moved from vision to reality. By connecting people, places, processes, data and things, innovative companies are using new digital technologies to manage complex industrial processes and improve consumers’ lives.

About Barilla

Founded in Parma, Italy, in 1877 as a shop that produced bread and pasta, Barilla is today one of the main Italian food groups: world leader in the pasta market, continental European leader in pasta sauces, Italian leader in bakery products and Scandinavian leader in crispy breads. Barilla owns 30 production sites (14 in Italy and 16 in the rest of the world) and exports to more than 100 countries.

About Cisco

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About Penelope S.p.A

Penelope S.p.A is an Italian management consulting company specializing in marketing, strategic planning, business development, performance and change management, ICT technologies and services. Lean more at http://www.penelopeonline.it/ or visit http://www.valuego.net/ to learn more about the ValueGo® platform.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA is a leading IT services provider and global innovation partner with 76,000 professionals based in over 40 countries. NTT DATA provides premier professional services, including consulting, application services, business process and IT outsourcing, and cloud-based solutions. We’re part of NTT Group, one of the world’s largest technology services companies, generating more than $100 billion in annual revenues, and partner to 80% of the Fortune Global 100. Visit www.nttdata.com to learn how our consultants, projects, managed services, and outsourcing engagements deliver value for a range of businesses and government agencies.