Qualitaly_115

FEB. MAR. 2020 V offering quality products. Strong points It ensures a balanced quality/price ratio combined with a punctual level of service, guaranteed also thanks to the action of 3 exclusive representatives, and by direct staff, responsible for the preparation of goods and deliveries with their own fleet of vehicles. News In March, a beverage wholesaler in Colico (LC) will present the range reserved for catering. Here, demonstrator technicians will make pizzas with different types of dough made with the new special flours from the Agugiaro mill; selected products from Maggengo Valtellina will be used for the filling. ______________________________ Spé.al Range It offers a wide range of products including frozen food, fresh fish, smoked food, meat, cold cuts, cheese and canned food. Alongside the food sector there is also the non-food sector, where the range consists of items from disposable dishes to detergents. The catalogue is completed by catering supplies and equipment rental for parties and festivals. Strong points A winning mix of convenience, guaranteed origin of the products and high standards of quality and hygiene. Also decisive is the service, which allows it to give the customer “what he wants, when he wants it”, and the staff, able to ensure a constant and competent support. News The expansion of the existing structure is nearing completion and at the same time work has begun on the construction of a new department for the processing and storage of fresh fish that will cover an area of about 400 square meters. AT PAGE 14 CLOSE UP Psychosis at the restaurant? Let’s reassure the customer The consequences of the new Coronavirus do not only affect Chinese restaurants: cases of this kind affect the way people visit places of entertainment, hospitality, tourism and retail. But there is a way to equip yourself. And the (positive) effects will be more lasting than the virus... By Anna Muzio At the moment we write, we don’t really know how it’s going to end. The WHO has declared a state of global emergency, there will be other cases and unfortunately other victims of the new Coronavirus (virus 2019-nCov) which manifested one day in December from the city state of Wuhan, China. However, there is a reflection on how extreme health situations of this kind (the previous ones were SARS developed in China in 2002-03 and MERS in 2012 in Saudi Arabia) impact on hospitality and catering in particular. Starting from one fact: it is certain that there will be consequences on the global economy, given the role of China in particular, and the city of Wuhan as a global industrial hub. “The concern is not for that widespread apocalyptic scene with people dying in the streets. The concern is that a huge slice of the global economy will be put out of business while people wait for the psychosis to end,” said Patrick Chovanec, managing director of Silvercrest Asset Management at the Washington Post. HOSPITALITY AFFECTED Social behaviour changes first and foremost, with serious consequences for tourism, trade and, of course, hospitality and catering. So much so that among the first news that made the seriousness of the situation visible was the closure of dozens of McDonald’s and Starbucks stores in the Hubei region. They were the sentinel of a problem that our restaurants experienced immediately afterwards. First of all, the Chinese, who in Milan alone, just a few days after the alarm was raised, recorded, according to Francesco Wu, Confcommercio’s advisor and contact person for foreign business, a 50% loss in turnover with numerous cancellations of reservations. “If people continue not to come to our premises, we risk closure and many will lose their jobs,” explained Wu to Open . FOOD SAFETY Certainly, the fear of frequenting crowded places plays a predominant role, and even more so the psychosis that has affected an entire community, reaching extreme cases of racism and ignorance such as the signs that forbade the Chinese to enter some places in Rome and have them removed by the judicial authorities. It must also be said that the link between disease and food is so deep-rooted (see box) that it is immediate. And it matters little if European laws prohibit the import of raw meat and live animals from China, and meat - and now more and more products - are subject to a strict traceability system. This is often not enough. And the news sometimes doesn’t help: just before the alarm for the new Coronavirus broke out, the Padua Guardia di Finanza (Financial Crimes Police Corp) seized 10 tons of pork from China, introduced into the European Union in violation of customs and health regulations. The meat had been hidden in a double bottom, similar to those used to transport drugs, in an import container of food of vegetable origin. COMMUNICATING TO THE CUSTOMER At this point it becomes important, and not only in cases of emergency, to communicate to the customer the origin of the ingredients used. And to be informed also on the supplier side. Remembering local produce, including bio, the regional products that tell a story, reassure, make one feel at home, give a sense of control almost as if they were personal. It is now a necessary asset to be able to