The Nutritional Institute Carapelli was born in 2001 as a scientific center for the study of olive and olive oil. After three years operating as an internal division inside the company Carapelli Firenze Spa, in 2004 the Nutritional Institute started the procedure to be recognized as a non-profit organization (ONLUS).
The new non-profit foundation, called Istituto Nutrizionale Carapelli, was presented to the national press during the Festival of Spoleto, that took place between the 16 and the 18 July 2004: This was the occasion for publicly presenting the Scientific Committee of the Institute, composed by the world’s leading scholars on the nutritional properties of olive oils.
During the Festival the results of the research “Consumption of olive oil: the protective role of oleic acid and phenolic components of biological activity in animals and humans” were also illustrated: A study of the minor components of extra-virgin olive oil, in particular biophenols, that was developed in collaboration with the Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milan and Prof. Galli, through an in vivo test to detect the antioxidant action of biophenols.
During its first year of activity, the new non-profit Foundation – Istituto Nutrizionale Carapelli developed the most important issues related to food, focusing on toppings commonly used in a healthy Mediterranean diet. It also participated in two major conferences: “Bologna Sana”, in September 2004, and the National Congress of ADI Messina in October.
Particularly important was the publication of the book entitled “Consumption of olive oil and prevention of cardiovascular diseases“, written by the authors C. Galli and F. Visioli, which summarizes the results of epidemiological and clinical studies on cardiovascular diseases of those populations with a higher standard of living, focusing into the Western world.
A series of articles were published on scientific magazines during 2005 and the same year five thesis in Food Science and Technology and Natural Sciences were concluded.
Between 2006 and 2007, the Nutritional Institute Carapelli participated in other Conventions, including:
- ARNA (Researchers Association for Nutrition Food), held in Bologna on March 23 to 25, where Dr. Paola Bogani presented the results of the most recent studies on biophenols and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in vivo, carried out by the working group of Prof. Claudio Galli and Dr. Francesco Visioli, Department of Pharmacology, University of Milan;
- The Institute was one of the major promoters of the event “Food and health: eat well to live better“, organized by the newspaper La Repubblica – Salute, in collaboration with Somedia (a company owned by the publishing group L’Espresso) that was held at the Congress Centre of Rome from the 27 to the 28 October 2006;
- The Nutrional Institute participated in the first conference held by Marcus Evans at the Quality Agri-food Forum in Bologna with the report “Basic nutritional parameters for the functional quality of the food“;
- During 2007 The Nutrional Institute participated in the conference “The taste of health – Nutrition education: Needs and not only opportunities” in Florence, which was a very important moment to introduce the project to the institutions and the consumers;
- Participation in the conference at Tavernelle Val di Pesa as part of the exhibition “OLIO SAPIENS History, tastes and knowledge of Good Oil“;
- Participation in the conference “Fish soup, a region, a nation” as part of the Festival del Brodetto (fish broth) on issues related to the typical recipe of Fano; .
- Participation in the conference organized by TecnoAlimenti on the use of fast physical-chemical methods used in the Food Industry.
Since 2007 the Nutritional Institute Carapelli increased its engagement in education and training, promoting free educational projects for schools of the entire national territory. Discover all the educational projects of the Institute in the appropriate section!
Unitamente alle intense attività didattiche dei recenti anni, l’Istituto Nutrizionale Carapelli ha deciso nel 2017 di dare nomina al nuovo Comitato Scientifico, selezionando alcune tra le più influenti personalità nell’ambito odierno della nutrizione e della tecnologia olearia. Con le attuali attività l’Istituto intende rafforzare e incrementare il proprio ruolo scientifico con ulteriori ricerche e approfondimenti, al fine di sensibilizzare il settore oleario e gli stessi consumatori sul tema dell’importanza di una corretta e sana alimentazione.