How is the new label with the origin of the pasta
How is the new label with the origin of the pasta

Video: How is the new label with the origin of the pasta

Video: How is the new label with the origin of the pasta
Video: Pasta: Past and Present 2024, March
Anonim

“Italy yes - Italy no, the land of pasta!”, Who knows if today, 22 years later, Elio and Le Storie Tese would write the words of their Land of Persimmons in this way. Probably yes, if nothing else it would do it to tease the protectionist turn that is likely to take, in these days.

Let's talk, in case it is not clear, of the new labeling on pasta, in force from next February 17th. "More transparent labels", as Minister Martina declared last August, which will report on the label the origin of the grain and the place where it was ground.

It often happens that these processing steps take place in several countries, so the terms 1) EU countries, 2) NON-EU countries, 3) EU AND NON-EU countries will be used, depending on the origin. And in the event that the wheat was grown in only one country, at least for 50%, it can be specified. So you can write, for example: "Italy and other EU and / or non-EU countries".

With all the paradoxes of the case: pasta factories that use Italian raw materials will look forward to showing off its origin on the label, while those who take it from abroad, in some cases outside the European Union, will loudly defend their own reasons. Already last November, Barilla, whose new label we see in the cover photo, had already put its hands on, underlining the need for foreign supplies due to insufficient Italian raw materials.

And now Felicetti, president of Aidepi, the Pasta Makers Association, says his to Corriere: "The most serious thing is to have created the idea that Italian wheat is better than foreign wheat. It is not through the origin of the raw material that the quality of the pasta is declared which, rather, derives from knowing how to make pasta ".

Further perplexities of trade associations, including Federconsumatori, derive from the upcoming European provision on the origin of pasta, rice, tomato preserves and the like, which could replace Italian law in the coming months, and therefore the label that stands for debut.

The European Regulation, however, will limit itself to specifying whether the main ingredient is EU and non-EU, as is the case with extra virgin olive oil, without dwelling on the precise country of origin. And European standards, it should be remembered, prevail over national ones; starting from the second quarter of 2018, the rules will probably change and the indication "Italy" could disappear in a flash.

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