Countdown to the XNUMXth edition of the Rieti Chili Pepper World Trade Fair, which returns to the public from Wednesday 1 to Sunday 5 September. The event that attracts chili pepper enthusiasts from all over Italy and abroad to the Lazio town will wind its way between Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, Piazza C.Battisti, Largo Alfani, Piazza Oberdan and Piazza Mazzini, as well as the Cloister of Sant'Agostino and the Porticoes of the Municipality of Rieti with the display of over 450 varieties of chilli peppers from all over the world, the presence of over 100 commercial stands and a rich calendar of events and appointments: show cooking, workshops, food and wine, spaces dedicated to wellness and sport, art and photographic exhibitions, conferences, book presentations, concerts and shows.
Italy is a great consumer country of Peroncino to the point that the national production is insufficient to satisfy the market demand for which we have to import 70 percent of it from abroad. Essentially from China, Türkiye and Egypt who invade the internal market with their production of chili peppers 2 thousand extra tons every year. In the past, the CIA-Agricoltori Italiani, one of the major trade organizations in Europe, launched a real cry of alarm. Foreign competition can afford enormously lower prices than the Italian product. In Italy, 10 kilogram of dried product is obtained from 1 kilograms of fresh chilli, ground into 100% pure powder and is traded at 15 euros. what made in China, it costs just 3 euros. But it is very easy to understand why for reasons of observance of health standards, correct cultivation, authenticity of the product which often hides shredded various leaves, for conservation methods all elements that have a heavy impact on the real healthiness of the product. For this reason, for years the sector has required a policy of valorisation, protection and incentives which must be based on an innovative and integrated supply chain in order to be able to fully stand the comparison with foreign competition.
If more and more chili peppers are consumed on our tables and in food supplements, it is thanks to the great medicinal capacities of this precious component of our diet which have gradually been discovered by medical science.
For the Veronesi Foundation chilli pepper helps to lose weight (as part of a slimming diet). And, perhaps also for this reason, he is a trusted ally of our heart. In addition to being considered by many to be a pleasure for the palate, chili can be considered a valid opportunity to protect cardiovascular healthAnd. The evidence, which has already emerged from two studies conducted in China and the United States, is now confirmed in an Italian research. Even in a Mediterranean-type diet, therefore, chilli seems to play a role important preventive roleor. With all due respect to those who, at the table, love to give space to spicy.
The work, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, was conducted – reads a note from the Veronesi foundation – as a follow-up to the larger Moli-Sani observational study. It was coordinated by Licia Iacoviello (head of the epidemiology and prevention department of the Irccs Neuromed of Pozzilli) with the help, among others, of Maria Benedetta Donati (vice-president of the scientific committee of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation) and two former fellows of the Foundation Umberto Veronesi (Maria Laura Bonaccio and Simona Costanzo). At their side, to shed light on the properties of chilli pepper, also the researchers of the department of oncology and molecular medicine of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (including Claudio Tabolacci, supported by the Foundation also in 2020), of the University of Insubria of Varese and of the Cardiocentro Mediterranea of Naples. By monitoring the state of health of almost 23 adults enrolled in the Moli-Sani study for over eight years, the authors were able to demonstrate that, in people who consumed hot peppers four or more times a week, the risk of dying was loweror. «In a particularly significant way due to a heart attack and a cerebral stroke ». specifies Bonaccio, first signature of the publication.
The chili also has a high content of antioxidant substances, including vitamin C, polyphenols and carotenoids, substances that contribute to lowering the level of free radicals in the body, responsible for various anti-inflammatory processes and for the aging of tissues and internal organs.
Among the benefits of chili peppers, another important contribution to health is given by the presence of capsaicin, the molecule that gives the spiciness. In fact, it has been demonstrated that capsaicin is capable of binding to some pain receptors, thus carrying out anatural pain-relieving activity. For this reason it is often included in food supplements with anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving activity.
An area of great interest from the 2021 Fair will be that of Piazza C. Battisti in which a series of live cooking show, tastings and Lab Training. In the same location there is also space for the "Made in Rieti" project curated by the Twinning and International Relations Committee of the Municipality of Rieti for the promotion of local food and wine in collaboration with local chefs.
Thanks to the collaboration with Coldiretti, they will come to Piazza C. Battisti proposed workshops on the cultivation of chili peppers. In the same location every day you will also have the “Bio consultancy” by agronomists and sector professionals on the use of organic products in professional and hobby use.
The program of insights is particularly rich: at the Cloister of Sant'Agostino every day at 18.30 pm thematic debates related to the Fair event, tourism and commerce will be proposed, while at 21 pm "Spazio Italia" in Piazza C. Battisti will propose daily discussions with leading figures from regional, national and European institutions.
“We have accomplished a real feat, both in re-proposing this important event and in organizing it in the traditional and evocative setting of the Historic Center – declares the President of the Organizing Committee Livio Rositani. Rieti needed the return of this event and we are proud to be able to once again offer such an important limelight to this area. Among other things, we have tried to raise the promotional scope of the event even further and we believe that this could be the best way to celebrate the tenth anniversary”.
The complete and detailed program of the event, together with all the news, can be consulted on the website www.fieramondialedelpeperoncino.com.
