AN INNOVATIVE MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL PROJECT AT THE SERVICE OF ITALIAN QUALITY

The agreement signed last October between TUTTOFOOD, Fiera Milano’s international food show, and NASFT, the American Association for the Specialty Food Trade, organizers of Fancy Food, signals a first important success.

A programme of five educationals has been officially agreed on, where the protagonists will be Lombardy’s DOP and niche cheeses, during the next edition of Fancy Food in San Diego in January. They will range from grana padano, the absolute top-selling cheese in the world, to strachitund, a super-niche cheese, gorgonzola, Lombardy taleggio and classic provolone. An interesting programme, as much for the variety of products as for the meticulous way the cheeses were selected. As the event’s promoters stress, “We wanted to reward the cheeses that have always been synonymous with quality and wholesomeness, products that have contributed to the history of the food industry in our country”.

The thread running through each meeting will be a metaphorical journey: the characteristics of the products will be presented within the historic-cultural contexts from which these Italian delicacies originate. Attention to tradition, then, but with an eye to the future too, a blend of old traditional Lombardy dishes together with completely innovative foods.

Aimed exclusively at purveyors of food and drink, buyers and specialist journalists, this project is a concrete answer to the challenge that globalized consumption throws down to quality production. The aim is to increase product culture in such as way as to exalt uniqueness and prevent imitations. “Quality and marketing – as the managers of the companies involved sustain – are the watchwords for Italian exports. As far as quality is concerned, we do our part. The role of the institutions is to create a system of laws that facilitates marketing and defends authenticity”.

Fiera Milano, for its part, underlines the importance of the initiative, demonstrating its commitment to continue this task of internationalization. Michela Fischer, TUTTOFOOD’s Manager, suggests the next steps “What we are engaged in is a meticulous job, a survey of foreign markets in order to create the right balance between offer and supply. San Diego is only the first in a series of appointments that TUTTOFOOD has scheduled during the whole of 2008. We will continue down the road of collaboration with other Italian regions, starting with Summer Fancy Food in Chicago.”