This year we celebrate the arrival of the Made in Italy label which obliges to indicate the origin of the grain used as requested by 81% of consumers according to the online public consultation on the labeling of agri-food products conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture. This is what Coldiretti affirms, on the occasion of the World Pasta day which is celebrated all over the world on 25 October, in underlining the effects of the publication in the Official Gazette of the Decree of the Ministers of Agricultural Policies Maurizio Martina and of Economic Development Carlo Calenda for the introduction in Italy of the obligation to indicate the raw material for pasta which will start from February 2018.
This is a measure strongly supported by Coldiretti to ensure greater transparency in consumer purchases and stop the speculations that have caused the collapse of Italian wheat prices below production costs which has caused the drastic reduction of sowings. “An answer also to citizens' questions as demonstrated by the bully – underlines Coldiretti
return of ancient national grains such as Senatore Cappelli and the decisive nationalist turn of pasta with the birth and rapid proliferation of brands and lines that guarantee 100% Italian origin of the grain used, from Ghigi to Valle del grano, from Jolly Sgambaro in Granoro, from Armando to Felicetti up to "Voiello", which belongs to the Barilla Group without forgetting some lines of the great
distribution. A choice also to protect health because in Italy - specifies Coldiretti - the use of glyphosate on wheat in pre-harvest is prohibited unlike what happens for the foreign one coming from the USA and Canada where intensive use is made of it in the pre-harvest phase - harvesting to dry and artificially guarantee a high protein level”.
With the label comes a just recognition of the work of over three hundred thousand Italian farms that cultivate it, but also the enhancement of an area of 2 million cultivated hectares. “Italy – continues Coldiretti – is the main European and second world producer of durum wheat, destined for pasta with 4,3 million tons on a cultivated area of about 1,3 million hectares which is concentrated in Italy southern Italy, especially in Puglia and Sicily which alone account for about 40% of national production. Italians - concludes Coldiretti - are the world's largest consumers of pasta with an average of 23,5 kilos per year per capita, but Italy also confirms its leadership in industrial production with 3,2 million tons, ahead of the USA , Turkey and Brazil”.
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