Quality, healthiness of products and excellences of the territory. The recipe of deputy Minister Olivero for enhancing Mediterranean Diet

Put in place immediately actions for the promotion and the protection of Mediterranean lifestyle, to maximize the visibility offered by Expo 2015. This is the main concept emerged this morning in Imeperia during the national capitalization event related to MedDiet project on "The Mediterranean Diet as model of excellence to enhance and promote", to which also Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry Andrea Olivero participated.

"With the enhancement of Mediterranean Diet, the focus is set on a unique sustainable development model in the world that sees a perfect conjugation of products’ quality and healthiness with the richness of the area – affirmed the Deputy Minister Andrea Olivero - our task is to promote, even on a daily basis, the promotion and preservation of this model which will be fully visible in occasion of Expo 2015, claiming for a collective thinking on the topic of food in terms of common good can convey the values of community and belonging, dialogue and cooperation."

By bringing the greetings of the Imperia Chamber of Commerce to Deputy Minister Olivero and to all participants, the president Franco Amadeo focused on the importance of the synergy between the various stakeholders taking part at the Forum and underlined in particular the crucial role of educational programs targeted to students.

The meeting, coordinated by the National Olive Oil Towns Association and moderated by the journalist of Agrisole and Il Sole 24 Ore, Giorgio Dell'Orefice, - was held as part of the Mediterranean Diet Forum organized by the Imperia Chamber of Commerce and by the Special Agency Promimperia representing an opportunity to disseminate the results and outputs obtained thanks to the strategic project "MedDiet - Mediterranean Diet and enhancement of traditional products", funded by the European Union under the ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin programme 2007-2013, but as well to present the future activities of the programme.

Several and diversified are in fact the MedDiet project objectives aiming at a common result that promotes and enhances the Mediterranean lifestyle: in particular, the aim is to improve the sustainability of food consumption patterns, to become more aware of the lifestyle necessary to prevent diseases related to a lacking diet, to learn about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet for children, young people and consumers, to contribute to the improvement of know-how among farmers, food producers and restaurants offering an authentic "Mediterranean Diet" brand, but also establish a greater political capacity for institutions to protect the Mediterranean Diet.

"Among the actions that will follow in the coming weeks by the working groups - explained the President of the National Olive Oil Town Association and of Re.COMed, Enrico Lupi, by concluding the convention - there will also be the identification of a shared legal system for the promotion and protection of the Mediterranean Diet, but not only. Much work has already been done since the beginning of the MedDiet project, especially in terms of initiatives for the improvement of knowledge - such as the development of an Italian food pyramid, a list of best practices on eating and cooking Mediterranean in Italy and a digital library concerning studies related to the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet for health - and food education initiatives targeted to school children as well as to adult consumers. Soon, an action on the certification of over 300 MedDiet branded restaurants - 40 of which in Italy – will take place in the six countries where the project started, and last but not least, to spread the culture of this healthy model linked to food traditions of our territories, even outside the borders of the Mediterranean. The use of the tools provided by the web – ad hoc created website and App - but especially the opportunity to be present as protagonists in Expo 2015 will help us achieving this ambitious goal."

Among the initial greetings, besides the President of the Imperia Chamber of Commerce Franco Amadeo, also the Councillor for Agriculture of the Liguria Region Giovanni Barbagallo and Alessandro Pischedda of the Technical Secretariat, ENPI CBC Med Managing Authority.

"My role - explained Councillor Giovanni Barbagallo - leads me to seek for continuous improvement in the production processes and in the maentime to preserve the traditional and the quality assuring models of excellences produced in Liguria. To let this become possible, land conservation is though fundamental: until today, economic resources up to 30 million euro have been invested in this sense, which have themselves contributed to encourage additional investments that led to the achievement of a good level of protection".

A series of direct testimonies about comparing experiences followed, including the one of Ferruccio Dardanello, President of Unioncamere Italy and Leading Partner of MedDiet project.

"Once again - emphasized Dardanello - Imperia is demonstrating itself at the center of the great challenges of the present, able to look to the future that goes towards cohesion of the Mediterranean, the guardian of a great story where dreams and projects find a collocation. It is with this kind of initiatives that we need to work with passion to achieve goals. We are in front of a sea that divided before - he added – but that has now to unify populations, cultures and people being the Mediterranean Diet a strategic tool in this process because it brings together the various potentials. Let’s think about oil: in it we have an element that combines and unifies all these populations and this project on the Mediterranean Diet gives us the opportunity to show these resources in the upcoming big event of Expo. Even numbers do show this: the agricultural sector is a very big slice of the Made in Italy and in order that our alimentary habits may be spread it is important to involve young people."

Among the other speakers, the one of Donatella Albano, Member of the IX Committee for Agriculture Italian Senate, Ben Hammouda, General Director of the Tunisian National Institute of Agronomic Research and Francesca Ottolenghi, Director of International Cooperation, National League Fishing Italy.

Ufficio Stampa Forum Dieta Mediterranea

Marte Comunicazione snc di Marzia Morganti Tempestini & C.

Tel. 335 6130800 Email: marzia.morganti@gmail.com

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