Promote authentic Made in Italy agri-food contrasting the phenomenon of Italian sounding. The objective of Assocamerestero is confirmed with the edition “Authentic Italian Table 2021”, the international event belonging to the True Italian Taste project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, aimed at encouraging the conscious consumption of 100% Italian products.
We've been talking about for several years now Italian sounding, a widespread phenomenon abroad that uses our gastronomic heritage to market products that in reality are not connected to our country at all, causing innumerable damage to our economy, to Italian exports, to local producers but also to consumers unaware of what they buy.
However, it is a phenomenon that does not have a clear and unambiguous definition and for this reason it is difficult to quantify its economic impact. According to monitoring conducted by Assocamerestero in collaboration with the CCIE, it appears that among the products most affected are dairy and dairy products in North America (35,2%), packaged products (ready meals, frozen foods, preserves and condiments) in Europe (with 55,5 .26,8%), while in Asia Italian condiments undoubtedly prevail (with XNUMX%). However, the estimates often concern the impact of the counterfeiting of our products alone, in reality the Italian sounding is much more than this.
Protecting Italian agri-food excellence by making the public and businesses aware of the problem is the objective of Assocamerestero which, with the 2021 edition of "Authentic Italian Table", wanted to focus attention on the territorial and regional specialties of Made in Italy with promotion focused on traditions and different excellences food and wine locals. To accompany the participants in the discovery of Italian flavours, ingredients and specialties a team of starred chefs and highly skilled.
The initiative started in the second half of May for one total of 50 activities, including 26 in America, 14 in Europe and 10 in Asia and Australia. The last ones will take place, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, on 30 July in Melbourne (Australia) and on 10 August in Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam).
Due to the health crisis, the initiatives were organized in a transversal and eclectic way, both in presence and remotely with Italian and international guests from the food and wine sector, to enrich the content and format of the scheduled activities. Come competition, show cooking online a Toronto, themed tastings and masterclasses a Houston, tasting evenings with celebrity chefs a New York and again hybrid cooking and design masterclasses at Miami, cooking demonstrations a Tokyo and making videos in Italian restaurants a Bangkok. Then lessons and cooking tests a Zurich, a food and wine journey between show cooking and tastings a Moscow, “walking tasting” ad Amsterdam dedicated to healthy eating and living and tales of Italian dishes a Barcelona.
And yet the Neapolitan pizza is at the center of the show cooking organized at Seoul with the remote contribution of the famous pizza maker Gino Sorbillo ea Monaco with the event in the company of the master pizza chefs of "Scuola Bianca". While a Brussels the elegance and flair of Brescian pastry are rediscovered in the flavor notes of the “sbrisolona” desserts and the original summer panettone prepared by chef Luigi Biasetto. Tuscan dishes and specialties are the protagonists a Lyon e Luxembourg. Instead, Chicago e Hong Kong celebrate the ancient flavors and knowledge of Sicilian cuisine. Rio de Janeiro enhances the Venetian tradition with chef Rudy Bovo while a Montreal the taste of Romagna specialties is enhanced.
The event was organized not only by Assocamerestero, but also by 36 squares supervised by the Italian Chambers of Commerce Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Mexico City, Belo Horizonte, Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brussels, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Frankfurt, Monaco, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, London , Barcelona, Madrid, Zurich, Warsaw, Moscow, Melbourne, Sydney, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Beijing, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo.
“All the activities that we are carrying out with the True Italian Taste project in the world aim to make authentic Italian products known and appreciated, enhancing the quality and wholesomeness of the Mediterranean Diet, associated with the values of tradition and respect for the territory and the biodiversity. They also want to make consumers aware of Italian Sounding, a sneaky phenomenon as it causes confusion in the choice between an authentically Italian product and one that shows signs or writings that seem Italian - he declared Dominic Mauriello, Secretary General of Assocamerestero -. After all, this phenomenon is often little known even in Italy, as we show in the web series "See you in the room", which we created to provide Italian food SMEs with an overview of the phenomenon in the world told by the voice of the CCIE."
