Barilla pasta lands on astronauts’ menus
14 December 2023
It really is true to say: “where there's Barilla, there's home”, even in the International Space Station (ISS). Barilla pasta, which has always reminded Italians of the warmth of home anywhere in the world, will now even conquer space, for the most extreme tasting test ever. There will be about 3kg of Barilla fusilli in the space capsule to be taken into orbit next month, January 2024 – for two weeks – aboard the ISS by the crew of the Ax-3 mission, including Air Force Colonel Walter Villadei. The initiative has resulted from the collaboration between Barilla and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, the Italian Air Force and Axiom Space to support the application for Italian cuisine to be listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
During the mission, Barilla will involve some crew members in sensory experiments to gain a better understanding of the nutritional requirements of astronauts in extreme conditions. Actually, in zero gravity, the experience of food and the perception of flavours are very different. Barilla wants to ‘challenge’ this unique environment with its pasta, a traditional food product that is innovative and practical at the same time, with a high nutritional and energy value. And, most of all, it's good and widely loved. In other words, the ideal candidate to explore and design the future of food.
"We have been producing pasta for more than 140 years. It is a product rooted in the very distant past and is an icon of Italian cuisine around the world. Being part of this space mission fills us with pride and offers us the opportunity to explore a new frontier of nutrition, giving astronauts a bit of the feeling of being at home”, noted Paolo Barilla, Vice President of the Barilla Group.
BARILLA FUSILLI IN SPACE: "HOW TO PREPARE THEM TO GUARANTEE ASTRONAUTS NUTRITION AND FLAVOUR”
Astronauts prepare food and eat like the rest of us, but the zero-gravity environment in which they do so means that part of the daily ‘land-based’ routine becomes a major technological challenge. Everyday activities, which we might take for granted here on Earth, become genuine missions in space, requiring meticulous planning and preparation. Often, food preparation involves not so much cooking, but rather rehydrating or heating ready-to-use products in the devices at the space station. Pasta must be adapted to these needs too. Boiling pasta in microgravity is impossible. The pasta Barilla will be sending into space is therefore already cooked and ready to be heated and enjoyed. Barilla’s R&D team has worked to ensure that the recipe in all its simplicity, pasta, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, represents the experience of Italian goodness and guarantees that it can remain al dente even before the countdown.
“Thanks to our tradition and experience in the art of pasta making and our great passion for quality and innovation, we have managed to create fusilli that can be pre-cooked and stabilised without losing the goodness we have always brought to tables all over the world. The process has been carefully fine-tuned to ensure that the pasta keeps its consistency and offers that wonderful resistance to the bite, which is the pinnacle of the experience of a good pasta dish all over the world. The product is only heat-treated, to make it safe to store at room temperature for long periods, with no added preservatives or additives. Our pasta seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt is the closest product to tradition that we can take into space at the moment. To provide nutrition and pleasure to astronauts from Italy and from all over the world”, explained Cristina Gallina, Director of the Barilla Global Discovery Centre.
HIGH-TECH AND SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAINS, 3D PASTA, OPEN INNOVATION: BARILLA’S COMMITMENT TO THE PASTA OF TOMORROW
Barilla’s dream of exploring the future of food, and pasta in particular, has a long history. For over 30 years, Barilla has been on a journey to increase the sustainability of the production of durum wheat, the raw material for pasta, using precision agriculture and decision support software for farmers. In 2014, Barilla created the first prototype to produce 3D-printed pasta, which is now marketed under its brand BluRhapsody. And for 5 years, as part of Good Food Makers – a global open innovation program for Agtech and Food Tech – it has been collaborating with innovative companies whose ideas will help shape a more sustainable future for food. A dream coming true, courtesy of Barilla’s “fusilli in space”. The countdown has begun.
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