Dubai, UAE; February 13, 2020:   The Italian Trade Agency (ITA) is participating in the silver jubilee edition of Gulfood from 16 to 20 February 2020, with a dedicated Food Lab which will host famous Italian Chefs. During the five days of the fair, the ITAlian Food Lab will feature a sequence of cooking sessions by the most popular UAE based Italian Chefs specialized in authentic Italian cuisine, including Giorgio Minnone, Andrea Brugnetti, Giacomo Gallina, Alfredo Albergatore, Francesco Bucca, Salvo Sardo, Davide Gardini, Matteo Mirandola.

 

Italy, participating with more than 200 companies, associations and organizations is strongly represented in the various pavilions of the exhibition. Several Italian companies will be present at the ITA stand, showcasing new brands. And like every year, at the ITAlian Food Lab visitors can enjoy true flavors of Italian cuisine, tasting sessions, gourmet food products and also benefit from informative sessions on the trending theme of Nutrition and Food Labelling. 

 

His Excellency Nicola Lener Ambassador of Italy to the UAE, said “At the ITA Stand we host the Food Lab every year to raise awareness about the nutritional benefits of “Made in Italy” brand products. In line with Gulfood’s theme of ‘rethinking food’ and ongoing UAE’s food labelling initiatives, we will highlight this year Italy’s own innovative ‘Battery Label’ system.”

 

Based on the Mediterranean Diet which advocates recommended quantities in a varied, satisfactory and nutritionally balanced diet, without food exclusions, the Battery Label system indicates the recommended percentage of energy, fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt for daily intake. The Italian food label resembles a charging light-blue battery. The label shows the percentage of energy and nutrients from a recommended daily intake in a single serving. The cell is full when the daily average recommended amount of a given nutrient has been reached.

 

This is an alternative to the “traffic light” scheme of nutrition labelling which will discriminate against many food products due to their fat or salt content, but nonetheless are nutritionally beneficial within a balanced diet.

 

According to Amedeo Scarpa, Italian Trade Commissioner to the UAE and Director of ITA Dubai Office : “The United Arab Emirates is an important market for the Italian food sector and in this 25th edition of the fair, Gulfood will host an ever increasing number of Italian exhibitors, showcasing an important selections of new brands.Food exports to the UAE continue to register higher figures, mainly in the confectionery sub-sector reporting a 30% surge. Another recorded interesting increase of 21% was noted in bakery products, 16% increase for dairy produce and a 13% boost for food and beverage items. The adoption of innovative industrial food technologies, the demand for authentic “Made in Italy” products, the increasing interest in the region for healthy and functional foods, the growing number of health conscious consumers and the excellent flavors of Italian cuisine are all important factors that continue to drive positively the demand for Italian products in the UAE market. ”

 

The participating Italian companies will exhibit a large variety of Italian products such as cheese, biscuits, sweets, bakery products, Italian coffee, organic foods, ‘free from’ foods, power foods, pasta, sauces, condiments, truffles, canned foods, tuna and many others.