The food industry in Italy has reformulated 4,200 products and repositioned 3,600 by reducing their caloric content, it was announced during a symposium organised by the FAO and the WHO on 2 December.
The changes were introduced in line with the Expo 2015 agreement, signed in Milan with Italy’s health ministry, which outlined the reformulation and improvement of the nutritional characteristics of foods, especially products aimed at children aged from three to 12.
The president of the Italian Food and Drink Industry Federation (Federalimentare), Luigi Scordamaglia, emphasised that the industry is ready to do its part to facilitate the adoption of a healthy, varied and nutritionally balanced diet. However, he stressed that the industry is against the prohibition of some foods, citing the examples of Denmark and Finland, which have seen the failure of food taxes and are now retracing their steps.
Reminding attendees that Italy has one of the safest food industries in the world, Scordamaglia stressed the importance of sustainability in the entire supply chain, from producers to consumers, with a particular focus on emerging markets.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
