EEEC (Europe) had the pleasure to attend the recent SGF/IFU Road show EURASIA 2019 which took place on the 23rd July in Beirut, Lebanon. The event was organized by the International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association and co-organized by the Arab Beverages Association (ABA), Technica, SGF International and the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN).

The location of the event was just a short flight away from our headquarters and the choice of venue outstanding but it was really the impressive line-up of speakers and their presentations topics that lured us and hundreds of other participants to the event, eager to learn from the best in the juice and nectar field.

In just a day, we learnt all about the new methods, codes and regulations in the fruit and vegetable juice and nectar industry. We also found out about industry innovative practices and interesting consumer trends.

We were reminded of how to read juice labels correctly and what wording to avoid if we have a specific need we would like our juice to fulfill. Like with most packaging labels, focusing only on the initial claim is not advisable, a close-up look at the ingredients is a much better way to determine what product we’re looking to purchase.

We were shown the quality control processes of the fruit juice value chain and taught advanced analytical methods to ensure fruit juice integrity.

We were pleased to discover most industry manufacturers and regulators had sustainability as the primary goal for the future on their business agendas. We were also given very valuable tips on what can be done with fruit juice by-products.

Along with the knowledge gained, the networking was second to none. We enjoyed meeting new and old contacts and industry peers with whom we exchanged plenty of ideas and discussed the future of the industry. We surely hope to continue doing so in the future.

Last but not least, we were all reminded of how much we rely on juice as part of our daily lives and diets.

Now, how do we sign up for the next event?