«In the face of those who want insect flour, crickets, grasshoppers. Of those in Brussels who fight the Mediterranean diet.” Thus, a few weeks ago one of the videos published by the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini from the Rummo pasta factory opened. The narrative according to which the European Union would fight against the Mediterranean diet and typical Italian products is well established. In April 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani claimed that with Nutriscore “the EU attacks the Mediterranean diet” and Italian wine, as we read on the pages of Republic. Two episodes that show how this is a great electoral battlehorse, claiming that the EU intentionally damages Italian food. But are things really like this? Does the EU seriously penalize the Mediterranean diet? In whose favor?
What Nutriscore is and how it works
Let’s start with Nutriscore. This is a traffic light label, due to the colors used, which is actually more similar to those that report the energy efficiency of household appliances on a scale ranging from A to E. The system is used in France and other European countries such as Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany. The objective is to give the consumer who purchases a food product an idea of the nutritional values of what is put in the cart without necessarily having to read the entire label of ingredients and nutrients. The presence of some nutrients and ingredients, such as saturated fats, sodium and sugars, lead to a lowering of the rating. Others, however, such as fruit, vegetables, olive oil, fiber and proteins, increase it.
Foods penalized by Nutriscore
Let’s give some examples. The label is not particularly lenient with cured meats, processed meat products, which are notoriously carcinogenic as certified by the World Health Organization. And it can’t be the same with alcoholic beverages, which are also carcinogenic. However, it is with the enormous variety of fruit and vegetables typical of Italy, and with good quality pasta, often rich in proteins and produced with just a couple of ingredients. Open had already done an in-depth analysis of the system which you can read here. Clearly, the only way to understand how healthy or unhealthy a product is and what it contains is to read the label, and not rely on a simplified indication such as Nutriscore.
Nutriscore rewards the Mediterranean diet
However, it is sufficient to take a look at the food pyramid of the Mediterranean diet to realize that this is rewarded handsomely by Nutriscore. The basis of the Mediterranean diet is fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, pasta, rice, couscous and other cereals, possibly whole grains. Continue with olive oil, milk and low-fat derivatives. Among these, only cheeses are rated negatively by Nutriscore. Excellent ratings also for dried fruit, legumes, fresh chicken and fish and eggs.
Therefore, almost only the products at the top of the pyramid receive bad ratings. That is, those that should be eaten less often, such as cured meats, red meat and sweets, whose consumption should not exceed once or twice a week. However, in October 2023, the European Commission announced that it will not present legislative proposals to make Nutriscore mandatory in the current legislature until 2024.
Europe protects the Italian culinary tradition: DOP, IGP and TSG
Furthermore, many typical products of the Mediterranean diet are protected by the PDO, PGI and TSG brands, respectively Protected Designation of Origin, Protected Geographical Indication, Guaranteed Traditional Specialty. All three of these brands were introduced by the European Union in 1992 to protect and certify the authenticity of typical food products from the Member States and distinguish them from imitations. Certifications of this type have been awarded to numerous dishes and drinks from various European countries. But as often happens in the culinary field, Italy is the master in this field, which holds the record for being the country with the largest number of certified products.
In fact, our peninsula boasts 326 certifications for food products and 529 for wines, as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (Masaf). In the same vein, during the last months of 2023 it finalized the consolidated text on quality, to prohibit that defined phenomenon within the bloc Italian Soundingwhich describes the practice of giving names that resemble those of typical Italian products to foods and ingredients that in reality are not, such as Parmesan, Prozek and other similar imitations.
The Mediterranean diet is dying
Despite the certifications and recommendations of doctors, more and more Italians are abandoning the Mediterranean diet. According to a study published in March 2023 by the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics (Crea), a body that is part of Masaf, the Mediterranean diet is nowadays followed by just 13% of Italians. According to the survey, carried out by SWG on behalf of Crea, it is mainly people who are well informed on the importance and variety of nutritional elements that follow it. At a territorial level, the best adherence to the dietary model is recorded in Sicily and Sardinia, together with Emilia Romagna and Lazio. The regions of the North-East and Campania follow the Mediterranean diet less.
In general, compared to traditional diets, today in our country we eat too much saturated fat, too much meat and too much animal fat. To ensure that reported adherence was as accurate as possible than actual adherence, the survey tested respondents’ dietary knowledge, as well as asking about specific foods consumed. It is therefore difficult to say that the decline of the Mediterranean diet is due to insect flour which was barely available on the market a year ago.
But the EU wants to save it
Finally, if the European Union was truly determined to attack and fight against the Mediterranean diet, it would hardly have allocated over two million euros to protect it and promote its adoption. This is in fact the objective of the Mediet4all initiative supported by the EU’s PRIMA programme, with the aim of introducing sustainable agriculture and water resources management practices in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Specifically, Mediet4all aims to support people in the transition from consuming large quantities of ultra-processed foods, which has increased greatly in recent years, to adopting the Mediterranean diet. In practice, a database of ingredients suitable for the Mediterranean diet and where to find them will be created, to then be used in recipes that should be adopted by hotels, canteens, and take-away restaurants.
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Tags: false claim European Union Italian food Mediterranean diet
