McDonald’s confirms its support for the Emilia-Romagna area with the sixth edition of My Selectionthe premium line of burgers selected by Joe Bastianich, created to enhance Italian DOP and IGP products, their quality and the close link with the territories. Si took place today at Bologna at Ex Gam, the presentation event of the new proposals My SelectionIn presence of Giorgia Favaro, CEO of McDonald’s Italia, Mauro Rosati, General Director of the Qualivita Foundation; Joe Bastianich; Mauro Grossi, President of the Pera dell’Emilia – Romagna PGI Consortium; Riccardo Deserti, Director of the Parmigiano Reggiano DOP Consortium; Federico Desimoni, Director of the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI Consortium; Andrea Righini, Director of the Pecorino Toscano DOP Consortium; Raffele Bellini, Chef of McDonald’s Italia; with the participation of over 40 students from the State Professional Institute of Hotel and Catering IPSAR “Luigi Veronelli” of Casalecchio di Reno.
An important opportunity to reiterate forcefully the company’s support for the Emilian territory following up on the alliance signed in recent months with the Consortium for the Protection of Emilia-Romagna PGI pearwhich involves the purchase from producers in the province of Modena, of 65 tons of pear puree. Added to this excellence is the Parmigiano Reggiano DOPthe first certified product to enter McDonald’s menus in 2008, which will be purchased 73 tons for the new recipe “My Selection Parmigiano Reggiano & Pear Sauce”, and theBalsamic Vinegar of Modena PGIa historic product of excellence for the premium line signed by McDonald’s and Joe Bastianich, always present in “My Selection BBQ” of which they will be purchased this year 4.5 tons.
«We are proud to reconfirm, with My Selection, our role alongside the protection consortia of our country.» – comment Giorgia Favaro, CEO of McDonald’s Italy. «This partnership, supported by the Qualivita Foundation, is of great importance for us because it allows us to make excellent PDO and PGI products accessible to many people and to invest in Italian agri-food companies, also supporting supply chains in difficulty, as happened before with the Pachino tomato PGI and now with the Pera dell’Emilia-Romagna PGI.» Mauro Rosati, General Director of the Qualivita Foundation, declared: «PDO PGI products are not just icons but represent an important economic value for the Italian agri-food sector. The path traced in recent years in Italy by McDonald’s with the collaboration of the Qualivita Foundation and the Protection Consortia represents a true best practice at a global level and demonstrates that the value of Geographical Indications can represent a competitive advantage for the entire supply chain and a meeting with quality for consumers.»
«I am very fond of the appointment with My Selection, a project to which I am happy to contribute and which tells a lot about me, about my life spent between the USA and Italy, my passion for cooking and my professional path as an entrepreneur in the restaurant industry .» – he comments Joe Bastianich – «This year too we have done our best to amaze those who will try the new sandwiches, carefully selecting flavors and quality ingredients: we are really thrilled with the result!»
«The vocation of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI is that of pairing – points out Federico Desimoni, General Director of the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI – our product was created to enrich and give greater complexity and harmony to dishes and preparations of any kind. The partnership with McDonald’s has made it possible to extend this incredible taste experience to the new generations and to convey to them a message that remains fundamental for us: the inestimable value of authenticity.»
«We are honored to be partners in this initiative which supports a supply chain in difficulty like the pear one.» – he has declared Mauro Grossi, President of the Emilia-Romagna PGI Pear Consortium. «The value of McDonald’s attention lies not so much in the quantities, but above all in the opportunity to keep attention alive on a product which, due to the events of the last 5 years, runs the risk of losing consumer interest. Thanks to initiatives like today’s, the Pera dell’Emilia-Romagna PGI is able to reach even the youngest people, giving it a new image.»
«The value of the project goes far beyond the sandwich itself and the quantity of Parmigiano Reggiano Dop used. Thanks to the My Selection project we speak to the consumer – to the millions of customers who choose the offer of McDonald’s restaurants – and in this way a double result is achieved at the same time: developing interest in Parmigiano Reggiano from a perspective of quality and combinations, and promote the overall value of the Italian heritage of geographical indication products.” – commented Riccardo Deserti, Director of the Parmigiano Reggiano DOP Consortium.
The agreement with the Protection Consortia is part of a broader path to support the Emilian territory which represents a strategic place for McDonald’s which here, precisely in the city of Bologna, inaugurated its first restaurant in 1987 and since then has opened other points of sale, reaching 60 stores in the whole region. To date, there are approximately 3,000 employees working there. Important numbers for a territory relevant to the future growth of McDonald’s.
Added to these data are those relating to local suppliers who operate in the Emilian area, supplying McDonald’s with some of those Made in Italy excellences that today distinguish the offer of over 700 restaurants. At the national level, McDonald’s invests approximately 415 million euros per year in the country’s agri-food sector. A commitment, that towards the supply chains, which is also expressed in the strong bond with the Protection Consortia, with which the company, thanks to the support of the Qualivita Foundation. Since 2008 in fact the company – also thanks to the virtuous collaboration with Qualivita Foundation – brought to the trays of over 1.2 customers a day a total of 21 DOP and IGP ingredients, included in approximately 45 recipes, equal to 7,000 tons of raw materials used.
The new edition of My Selection, with its proposals, is part of this path thanks to recipes capable of enhancing the excellence of the territory. Among these, the Emilia-Romagna PGI pear which enters the recipe My Selection Parmigiano Reggiano & Pear Sauce, prepared with 100% beef from Italian farms, Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, Emilia-Romagna PGI pear sauce and mustard, spicy Italian smoked salami. They are also added to this sandwich My Selection Pecorino Toscano DOP & Yuzu Saucewith 100% Italian chicken breast, Pecorino Toscano DOP, yuzu citrus sauce and smoked Italian bacon; My Selection BBQthe perfect combination of 100% beef from Italian farms, coleslaw, BBQ sauce with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI.
