"Working to strengthen safeguards and defuse the pitfalls of homologating agricultural production"
The Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies Stefano Patuanelli spoke today at the presentation of the XIX Ismea-Qualivita Report, which took place in the Cavour Room at MiPAAF. The report was presented by Cesare Mazzetti and Mauro Rosati, respectively President and General Director of the Qualivita Foundation, Cesare Baldrighi President of Origin Italy, Angelo Frascarelli President of Ismea and Oreste Gerini Director General for the promotion of agri-food quality and horse racing of the Ministry.
The Ismea-Qualivita Report annually photographs the world of denominations and the evolution of the Italian PDO and PGI system. The XIX Report, presented today, demonstrates once again how, thanks to the distinctiveness and tradition of our productions, the DOP economy holds on the national territory and abroad, it still proves the sector that perhaps better than any other is able to represent the peculiarity and strength of Made in Italy productions, and this year it grows in the Southern regions and in the Islands and drives the entire agri-food sector.
Minister Patuanelli intervened at the end of the presentation, underlining how evident at a European level there is a propulsion towards the homologation of agricultural production, unacceptable for production models such as the Italian one which is based instead on 841 products of excellence that are totally different from each other. “Precisely for this reason it is necessary to promote and forge alliances starting from France and Spain to counter this drift”, reiterated the Minister.
Patuanelli then focused on the revision of the regulatory framework for labeling and on that of the PDO and PGI regulation, which will be at the center of the 2022 community policies, underlining how it is necessary "to work to strengthen the safeguards and defuse the pitfalls that may lie behind the attempt to transfer the entire chapter of food quality to the intellectual property office ".
The Minister then highlighted that it is necessary to continue to safeguard and protect the entire production system from the risks that can generate food homologation, misleading labeling systems such as Nutriscore, fake news, attempts at imitation both on community markets and on third parties.
“It is paradoxical that the debate on Nutriscore, which has recently seen the position of several countries change, then collides with the proposals to even add a 'black stamp' with the letter F on wine and alcoholic products. Behind the Nutriscore labeling system are hidden homologation attempts. Citizens want to be more informed, not only on the nutritional aspects but also on how that product is made ”, concluded Patuanelli.