Keynote speakers
Conference on Buffalo Mozzarella and Milk Products
Plenary Speakers
Alexander
Anton
Alexander Anton, a trained food lawyer, has worked as a EU Commission official in DG SANCO and with the U.S. veterinary company ELANCO. Since 2013 he serves as secretary general of the European Dairy Association (EDA), the voice of the European milk and dairy companies in Brussels and as secretary general of the European Whey Processors Association (EWPA).
Since October 2013 Alexander Anton (French and German nationalities) heads as Secretary General the European Dairy Association (EDA), the voice of the milk processing industry in Europe. As per June 2020, Alexander took also the role of secretary general of EWPA, the European Whey Processors Association.
Prior to his dairy roles, Alexander held different positions in Brussels. From 2008 to 2013, he was in charge of the European corporate affairs department of ELANCO, the veterinarian branch of the U.S. pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. Before, Alexander worked as an EU Commission official in DG SANCOs directorate “safety of the food chain”, responsible for food law and food labelling.
As a trained lawyer and attorney (law degrees from universities of Bayreuth (Bavaria) and Bordeaux (France)), Alexander also worked at the Research Institute for German and European Food Law and established and headed the Brussels liaison office of a German trade association.
Alexander is married, has two children and enjoys running, hunting and good (dairy) food.
Otavio
Bernardes
Otavio Bernardes is breeder of Murrah dairy buffaloes in Brazil since 1975; Owner of Paineiras da Ingaí Farm where he produces milk, semen, and buffalo embryos; Former president of the Brazilian Association of Buffalo Breeders and the American Federation of Buffalo Breeders.
Human dermatologist, livestock farmer and urban land parceling entrepreneur, he has been involved in promoting and developing regional dairy basins and improving the genetic quality of regional buffalo herds in South and Central America.
Antonio
Borghese
Born in Catania on 18/1/1944. Degree in Biological Sciences on 18/11/1966 with points 108/110. Degree in Veterinary Medicine on 20/12/1969 with points 110/110. Professional qualification as veterinarian in 1970. Teachers’ diploma in Animal Production in 1971.
Researcher in Istituto Superiore di Sanità (The First Health Institute) in Roma from 1/3/1967 to 15/9/1970, after that Officer in Veterinary Military Service until 31/3/1972 Researcher in the Animal Production Research Institute (Istituto Sperimentale per la Zootecnia) of Agricultural Ministry in Monterotondo (Rome, Italy) from 18/1/1973. Research Director from 21/6/1983 of the Department of Animal Management and Reproduction, he coordinated many National and International project of research. General Director of the same Institute from 1/3/1999 to 3/1/2001. Director of Animal management and Buffalo Department in the same Institute until July 2009. Prof. Borghese coordinated many research projects as: The cull cow as a beef producer (CEE,1980), Development of goat livestock in Central Italy (1984-1987), Reproduction in goat breeds of South Italy(1986-1988), Improvement of production and reproduction efficiency in buffalo species (Agricultural Ministry National project,1988-1992), Reproduction in Animal Livestock (RAIZ, Agricultural Ministry National project, 1992-2000), Improvement in buffalo breeding and products (European and Lazio Region project,1994- 2001), Biological Agriculture in Lazio Region (2000-2001), Improvement and valorization of buffalo products (Agricultural Ministry PROBUF project,2003- 2007), Development of systems to increase production and quality in buffalo cows, heifers and young bulls (Agricultural Ministry MEZOO National project, 2005-2009). Prof. Borghese is author or coauthor of 407 scientific publications and of 6 books. One of this, edited by himself, published by FAO in 2005 with title “Buffalo Production and Research,” is very known in international environment, translated in Iran , it is in FAO website:agrowebcee.net. The last one, published on 2013, edited by himself and by CRA (Council of Research in Agriculture), with title Buffalo Livestock and Products, is in International Buffalo Federation website internationalbuffalofed.org. He is the Editor too of the Bulletin 426/2008 of the IDF (International Dairy Federation): Milking Management of Dairy Buffaloes. He organized many congresses, particularly in buffalo field and he was editor of many proceedings (Caserta 1997, Monterotondo, 2003). He is the coordinator of FAO Inter-Regional Cooperative Research Network on Buffalo and the Editor of the Buffalo Newsletter, that is published two times/year and sent free of charge to 1600 scientists and Institutes. He is the General Secretary of I.B.F. (International Buffalo Federation), that organizes every 3 years the World Buffalo Congress, every 3 years the Asian Buffalo Congress, every 3 years the Buffalo Symposium of America and Europe, each one in different years. The IBF organizes every two years the training course on Buffalo management and industry, more information and international projects to develop buffalo in the world. He was teacher in the Specialist School of Animal Nutrition in Veterinary University in Naples (1992-93, 2001-02), in the University Diploma in Animal Production in Monterotondo with Agricultural Science University of Viterbo (1997-2000, 2000-2003) and in Velletri (2002-03,2003- 04,2004-05).
Piercristiano
Brazzale
Agronomist and dairy technologist with extensive experience in the agricultural field, spanning from cultivation and commercialization of major crops to the breeding of pigs and dairy and beef cattle, and onward to milk processing and derivatives.
Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Brazzale Spa, the oldest Italian dairy company established in 1784. Additionally, holds the position of Vice President at Brazzale Moravia, a subsidiary of Brazzale Spa.
President of the International Dairy Federation (Fil-IDF) since November 2020, previously serving as the Head of Environment and Sustainability from 2015 to 2018, and as Vice President and Technical-Scientific Coordinator from 2018 to November 2020.
Actively engaged in various technical committees of FAO and the UN, including LEAP (Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance), GASL (Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock), UNEP (United Nations Environmental Protection Agency), and CFS (World Food Security Committee).
Represented the global dairy sector at COP 26, COP 27, and COP 28. Represented the dairy sector at the Food System Summit in Rome and New York in 2021 and 2023.
A member of the Accademia dei Georgofili, established in Florence in 1753, and serves on the Board of Directors of Confagricoltura Vicenza.
Responsible for international relations at ABPCCN (Brazilian Association of Carbon-Neutral Meat Producers).
Frequently invited as a speaker at major national and international congresses in the agri-food and dairy sectors.
Jaime
Castaneda
Jaime Castaneda is NMPF’s Executive Vice President for Policy & Strategy. In this role he oversees the organization’s domestic policy initiatives as well as international trade. He also provides government relations and advocacy support for the U.S. Dairy Export Council, leading the U.S. dairy industry in international trade negotiations.
He is a private sector advisor to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and regularly provides guidance to the Biden Administration on agricultural policy issues.
Since March 2012, Castaneda has also served as Executive Director of the Consortium for Common Food Names, working with food organizations worldwide to defend generic food names and the rights of consumers, buyers and producers to continue to use them.
In his more than 35-year career in agriculture, he has held through policy positions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy as well as marketing roles within the U.S. poultry and oilseed industries and the agricultural division of a leading U.S. pharmaceutical company.
Michael
D’Occhio
Michael D’Occhio has long-standing collaboration with different livestock industries. He undertakes basic and translational science that seeks to optimize the efficiency of livestock production and maximize enterprise profit.
His main contribution has been in reproductive biology which underpins all livestock systems. He has an interest in regenerative agriculture which balances production with environmental stewardship. He is an honorary professor at The University of Sydney and emeritus professor at The University of Sao Paulo.
Massimiliano
Giansanti
Massimiliano Giansanti, president of Confagricoltura, hails from Rome. Since September 2020, he has also served as the Vice President of the Committee of Agricultural Organizations in Europe (COPA).
With a longstanding commitment to representation activities and category organization, Massimiliano Giansanti has held positions such as Vice President and Executive Committee member of Confagricoltura. He has also served as the President of Confagricoltura Roma and Vice President of Confagricoltura Lazio.
As an agricultural entrepreneur, he is actively involved in advancing progress and innovation in agriculture, as well as promoting sustainable growth and development within the agricultural sector.
Massimiliano Giansanti holds the position of President at Agricola Giansanti Srl and serves as the Managing Director of the Agricultural Companies Group Di Muzio, operating in the provinces of Rome, Viterbo, and Parma.
Tim
Groser
Ambassador to the United States 2016-2018;
Minister of Trade and Minister of Climate Change 2008-15;
WTO Ambassador and Chair of the WTO Agriculture Negotiations 2002-2005;
Principal Economic Adviser to the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade 1997-2000;
NZ Chief Negotiator in the last (successful) multilateral trade negotiations, the Uruguay Round 1986-94;
Chairman of the International Dairy Agreement 1988-1990.
The Hon Tim Groser, former Ambassador to the WTO and Chairman of the WTO Agriculture Negotiations, former Chief NZ Agriculture Negotiator in the last successful Multilateral Trade Negotiation (the Uruguay Round), Trade Minister of New Zealand 2008-15 and Ambassador to the United States, has spent his entire career trying to find a way for NZ, the world’s largest dairy and sheepmeat exporter, to navigate the difficult international agriculture trading environment. But until recently, this was against the background of a system of global rules and understandings during the high point of what we call ‘peak globalisation’ (roughly 1989-2015).
We are now entering, not ‘uncharted waters’ – on the contrary, our predecessors have lived through deeply protectionist and fractured periods of the past – but clearly a very different and more dangerous global trading environment.
From the smallest boutique Italian company exporting the highest quality buffalo mozzarella to the world through to NZ’s dairy exporting giant Fonterra, this will influence our choices and strategy. Minister Groser is among the most qualified and experienced commentators and analysts to try to deconstruct politically and economically where we stand today.
Antonio
Limone
Antonio Limone is a veterinarian specializing in food inspection, serving as Director General of the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of the South and as a Counselor of the National Federation of Italian Veterinarians.
He coordinates all Italian Zooprophylactic Institutes for the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
With expertise in addressing health emergencies such as BSE, dioxins, brucellosis, blue tongue, avian flu, and COVID-19, Limone is recognized for his contributions to food safety and consumer protection.
His collaborative projects with the Campania Region and esteemed research institutions include initiatives like Qr-Code, Campania Trasparente, and SPES, advancing scientific research and safeguarding the Campanian agri-food heritage. In 2020, he coordinated the Coronet network’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting regional and national strategies for crisis management.
Raffaele
Marrone
Prof. Raffaele Marrone is graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Naples Federico II and got a Ph.D. in “Health and production of animal origin food” at the University of Naples. He is associate professor of food hygiene at the University of Naples Federico II.
He is is National Secretary of the AIVI and Director of the training course in “Control of Supply chain of fishery products”. His research deals mainly with chemical composition of food of animal origin. He was involved in several research project in the field of food inspection techniques and chemical analysis of foods. He is interested in several aspects of food hygiene and technologies, examines safety of the animal origin food products, their production technologies, storage conditions and food legislation, as well as makes the microbiologic, toxicologic and chemical analyses of the foods and interprets the results for the public health. He is involved in several research project in the field of food inspection techniques and chemical. He is member of the editorial board of several journals and participant to National and International research projects.
Shawna
Morris
Shawna Morris serves as Executive Vice President of Trade Policy and Global Affairs at NMPF.
In this role she leads the organization’s efforts to advance beneficial dairy trade policies through work with the U.S. and foreign governments as well as with domestic and international allied organizations to maximize U.S. dairy export opportunities, promote a more balanced playing global field for the U.S. dairy sector, and address policy-related barriers to the sale of their dairy products around the world.
She acts in the same capacity with NMPF’s partner organization on trade policy, the U.S. Dairy Export Council. As part of that work, she is a confidential trade advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office and the Department of Commerce.
Prior to joining NMPF in 2003, Morris worked for an economic consulting firm. The Pennsylvania native is a graduate of the College of William & Mary. She is a past Chair of the U.S. International Dairy Federation.
Germano
Mucchetti
Professor of Food Science and Technology, was at the University of Parma from 2005 to 2020, after having been a Research Manager at the Istituto Sperimentale Lattiero Caseario in Lodi, today CREA, where he pursued his career from 1980 to 2005, after graduating in Scienze delle Preparazioni Alimentari at the University of Milano.
He was professor of Dairy Technology at the Master Internacional “Tecnologia de los Alimentos (MITA)” organized by Facultad de Agronomia – Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina) and by Università di Parma. In addition to more than 150 scientific papers, he is co-author of the books “Microbiologia e Tecnologia Lattiero Casearia. Qualità e sicurezza” (Tecniche Nuove, 2005) and “Tecnologia casearia. Dall’empirismo all’industria” (CEA Casa Editrice Ambrosiana, 2022), and author of the book “Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano e similari. Cambiamenti, denominazioni, emigrazione e concorrenza” (Tecniche Nuove, 2022).
He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Consorzio Mozzarella di Bufala Campana.
Angela
Salzano
Dr. Angela Salzano is a fixed-term researcher in Animal Husbandry at the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production of Federico II University. She had several abroad experiences in Germany (Giessen) and the UK (Edinburgh) where she learned the basis of molecular biology and is also a specialist in Food Hygiene.
As a researcher, her interests are productive and reproductive management of large ruminants, food nutraceutical quality and precision livestock farming. She teaches “Waste Management and Impact” for the students of Precision Livestock Farming Master Degree and “Buffalo Breeding Management” for the students of Science and Technology of Animal Production. Dr. Salzano is the project leader for several Regional, National and European projects regarding Animal Breeding and Multifunctionality in Agriculture. She is also responsible for the international agreement between Federico II University of Naples and the Huazhong Agricultural University of Wuhan.
Rupinder Singh
Sodhi
Dr. Rupinder Singh Sodhi is the President of Indian Dairy Association (IDA), established in the year 1948, and is an apex body of dairy industry professionals, planners, milk producers, research scientists and academicians.
The members are from cooperatives,
corporate bodies, multi-national companies, private, government and public sector enterprises. IDA takes part in advocacy with Govt. bodies in planning process and promotes the dairy development programmes and the policies of the State and Central governments.
Dr. Sodhi was the Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (AMUL), from 2010-2023, which is the India’s largest Food Products organization with annual group turnover of more than Rs. 71,000 crores (USD 9.00 billion) during the year 2022-23. Dr. Sodhi has 42 years of rich experience in leading & developing cooperative sector within Indian dairy industry, having served dairy farmers in several capacities. AMUL procures 28 million liters of milk per day from more than 18,600 Village
Dairy Co-operative societies. The received milk is processed at 97 dairy plant across the India.
He is also the Chairperson of National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM). Dr. Sodhi has also been appointed as Independent Director on the Board of one of the biggest Poultry organization of India IB Group (ABIS exports Pvt ltd).Dr Sodhi is also Independent Director on the Board of Escorts Kobuta Ltd., New Delhi.
Dr Sodhi is also providing his Advisory services to Reliance Retail Ltd. Dr. Sodhi was also the Board Member of International Dairy Federation (IDF).
For more than three decades, Dr. Sodhi worked under direct guidance & mentorship of father of white revolution, Dr. Verghese Kurien and has ensured that values cherished by Dr. Kurien, such as integrity, dedication, courage, honesty, commitment to farmers and to consumers, remained deeply ingrained in the culture of the organisation.
Dr. Sodhi obtained his Bachelor (Agri Engineering) degree from CTAE, Udaipur, India and he is first-batch alumnus from Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA). Dr. Sodhi is the elected Fellow of National Academy of Dairy Science. He received Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) from GADVASU and Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Anand Agricultural University, Anand (Gujarat).
