McDonald’s has formalized the collaboration with the Consortium for the Protection of the Emilia-Romagna PGI Pear, which will result in the presence of the prized fruit in a new hamburger available in a few weeks in McDonald’s restaurants throughout Italy
From the editorial team
McDonald’s in partnership, Consortium for the Protection of the Emilia-Romagna PGI Pear, will present a new burger featuring the PGI pear. This is what was reported by agentfoodaccording to which the agreement was announced at a celebratory event held in Rome and which saw McDonald’s celebrate the important milestone of 700 restaurants opened in Italy.
Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture, defood and forest sovereignty, declared: “There are many products of certified excellence used by McDonald’s for a menu at acceptable prices and of competitive quality. This year I am particularly satisfied to see the made in Italy PGI pear from Emilia-Romagna protagonist of McDonald’s recipes. This will allow this supply chain, identifying some areas of Ferrara and other districts in the region, to make a relaunch strategy in a particularly difficult year for the entire sector and which the Meloni Government is supporting with important targeted interventions and in the Budget Law. PGIs guarantee not only quality but also respect for the environment, the territory and workers’ rights”.
“This collaboration between McDonald’s Italia and the Emilia-Romagna PGI pear consortium is really very important” – he recalled the regional councilor for agriculture and agri-food Alessio Mammi -. “The complex context in which the entire regional fruit system finds itself is well known, affected in particular by the damage caused by the effects of climate change such as late frosts, droughts and floods, plant diseases and others. The Emilia-Romagna Region has implemented structural interventions worth 70 million euros through the project Protected orchards for the mechanical defense of field production from the effects of climate change, and at the same time is working together with the Protection Consortium to support the promotion of the PGI pear on the national market. We are particularly pleased with the choice of McDonald’s because we have always believed that quality and safe food, produced by our supply chains, should be known and valued both in large-scale retail trade and in the catering channel. This project guarantees great visibility for our PGI pears and the opportunity for citizens to be able to taste them in new and very interesting contexts, which trace a new path from a promotional-commercial point of view and open up scenarios that go beyond the traditional consumption approach .”
The alliance with the Consortium for the Protection of the Emilia-Romagna PGI Pear it is only the latest in a series of agreements stipulated with protection consortia that have allowed McDonald’s to offer its customers certified top quality ingredients. Since 2008 in fact the company – also thanks to the virtuous collaboration with Qualivita Foundation – brought to the trays of over 1.2 daily customers a total of 20 DOP and IGP ingredients, included in approximately 45 recipes, equal to 6,700 tons of raw materials used.
The agreement foresees that the PGI pear will soon be included among the ingredients of a new hamburger. McDonald’s will buy over 65 thousand kilos of product, supplied by local producers in the province of Modena. This is an action that represents a model of commitment to continue to implement in the future to support supply chains that find themselves operating in difficult and challenging contexts.
“We are proud to announce our partnership with the Consortium for the Protection of the Emilia-Romagna PGI Pear which allows us to offer our customers another Italian agri-food excellence. We hope that our collaboration can promote awareness of this ingredient, also thanks to our 700 restaurants which welcome over a million customers every day, often very young” – he commented Giorgia Favaro, managing director McDonald’s Italy. “As a company we feel the responsibility to listen to the needs of the area and take concrete action where possible. Just as the agreement with the Pachino PGI tomato supply chain was born last year, this new collaboration with the Consortium for the Protection of the Emilia-Romagna PGI Pear allows us to support a supply chain in difficulty”.
“I express great satisfaction for the partnership which in this important McDonald’s project also features the Emilia-Romagna PGI pear together with many Made in Italy excellences. It will certainly be an important action that will promote and increase knowledge of the close link with the territory and tradition”, he commented Mauro Grossi, president of the Consortium for the Protection of the Emilia-Romagna PGI Pear. “It is essential to raise awareness among the highest possible number of consumers, especially young people, to guarantee the survival of both the PGI and the entire pear supply chain, so severely put to the test in the last 5 years. This action adds to the support guaranteed to us by the Emilia-Romagna Region for the PGI and by the Ministry of Food Sovereignty and Forestry for the pear supply chain. I remember that the pear “was” one of the four fruit products for which Italy was decisive in the global market. The Pera dell’Emilia-Romagna PGI was among the first protected names to be recognized at European level in 1998.”
Copyright: Fruitbook Magazine
