RChallenges, advances and innovation: Meat Attraction programme drives the future of the meat industry
IFEMA MADRID and ANICE announce a full agenda of presentations, round tables and complementary activities to the exhibition area of Meat Attraction.
Meat Attraction, the International Trade Fair of reference for the meat industry, which is being held from 25 to 27 February, announces its programme at the service of the industry. Organised by IFEMA MADRID and the National Meat Processing Industries Association of Spain (ANICE), and sponsored by Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar, it will be featuring presentations and activities to offer professionals a high-value experience.
The present and future of the meat industry to be debated during the MEAT FORUM
MEAT FORUM kicks off on 25 February with #DistriMeat, in which Horacio González Alemán, director of Thoffood, will be addressing the keys to the business sector of the meat industry in the face of the geopolitical challenge. Afterwards, moderated by José Manuel Álvarez (Livestock and Meat Forum), the round table discussion ‘The collaboration between links, the key to the future’ will be held with the participation of Nuria Cardoso (ASEDAS), José Luis Álvarez (Álvarez Selección), Ignasi Pons (FECIC) and Lola Ulecia (ANGED).
Dr Antonio Escribano, Professor of Sports Nutrition at the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM), will be addressing the importance of animal protein for humans, offering a keynote speech after which he will open up a discussion with the audience.
In the afternoon presentations will be given on 'Biotechnological strategies to increase the shelf life of meat products' and 'Strategies to reduce food waste in meat industries’, closing with 'Do you want to save the planet? Eat meat', which will give the keys to balancing production and consumption and will present the industry's responsibility towards the environment and the MEATquality project.
The second day, 26 February, begins by focusing on the development of the Halal market, which is expected to grow to $1.9 trillion by 2027. After the inauguration, a discussion will take place on the situation and prospects for Spanish companies in the halal meat market in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) along with round tables on 'The Spanish Poultry Sector and the New UAE.S. 993:2022 in UAE' and 'Strategies and Experiences Exporting Spanish Meat Products to the GCC'.
This will be followed by 'International challenges in the meat industry. Italy and Spain, models and experiences', which will bring together Valentín Almansa, Director-General of Agri-Food Production Health and Animal Welfare of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Ugo della Marta, Director General of Hygiene and Food Safety and Nutrition of the Italian Ministry of Health, to discuss the international challenges facing the meat industry and how to learn from the experiences and lessons learned in each country.
After this round table, the MeaTIC Day organised in conjunction with Eurocarne will address how the implementation of Artificial Intelligence can help to improve and make livestock farming and the meat industry more efficient, as well as business financing channels for digitalisation. After the talk 'Present and future of AI for the agri-food and meat industry' by David Martínez (Ainia Technology Centre), Jesús Cruz (Eurocarne) will moderate the round table 'The role of AI in the future of the meat industry' with Joaquín Terés (Nealia-Grupo Vall Companys), Carlos de la Iglesia (Incarlopsa) and Carmen Ovejero (FI Group).
The last day of MEAT FORUM begins with 'The revolution of food cleaning in the meat industry' and with the presentation 'AI and automation as drivers of change in the industry'. The round table 'Meat as a protagonist in hospitality: from origin to customer experience’ will explore how the meat value chain is articulated in the industry and the challenges and opportunities at each stage. Pedro López Mena (LEW Brand Group), Giuseppe Aloisio (ANICE) and Martina MIserachs (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) will be participating.
This will be followed by the Meat Attraction Hospitality Awards, organised in conjunction with Hostelería de España, which recognise catering establishments that have meat as the main ingredient on their menus, and the Innovation Hub Awards. MEAT FORUM will close its 2025 edition with the presentation of the Meat Music Festival.
Factoría: activities and workshops to explore the meat industry
In collaboration with Carnimad, on 25 February the Factoría area will host the last training session of the Spanish National Butchers’ Team, which in March 2025 will be competing for the first time in Paris in the World Butchers' Challenge. Industry peers will be able to witness what the competition events are like and how the professionals prepare to reach the podium.
In the afternoon, the round table 'Women in the meat value chain' will feature women from different links in the industry value chain who will explain how they are interconnected and feed back to each other to achieve the best results.
26 February sees the start of the 'Best Spanish Meat Product' competition, which at this edition has the mission of highlighting the artisan facet of the professionals in the trade, who will surprise visitors with their recipes, presentations and flavour mixes. In the afternoon, Iñigo Álava, director of R&D and lecturer at the Basque Culinary Center and doctor in Biochemistry, will offer the masterclass 'The organoleptic characterisation of meat', testing the senses and what they can perceive in a piece of meat.
On the last day, Factoría Chef is hosting 'Foie Gras, a jewel of world gastronomy’ and closing with ‘Iberian flavour with a Michelin Star: Nico Jamones and Coto de Quevedo'.
Check out the full agenda of activities at Meat Attraction 2025: https://www.ifema.es/meat-attraction/horario-actividades#actividades