The annual international meeting of pasta major experts and manufacturers took place in Istanbul, Turkey, on the occasion of the World Pasta Day 2013, where the Conference “Pasta: the sustainable, healthy and delicious food” was held. For the occasion, the town along the Bosphorus hosted producers, economists, nutritionists, opinion leaders and media from all over the world, to celebrate an ancient food rich in history, by now present on the tables and in the dining customs of many countries.
In the suggestive frame of the Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel, the Conference, as always, was preceded by the Annual General Assembly, for members only.
The Conference started with the opening welcome messages by Murat Bozkurt, Chairman of Tmsd (Turkish Pasta Producer Association), by the Ministry of Agriculture, and by Claudio Zanao, President of Ipo (International Pasta Organization), the non-profit association dedicated to promote pasta consumption and awareness around the world. Ipo’s Secretariat-General is run by Aidepi (Italian Association of Confectionery and Pasta Industries). Since its establishment the Secretary General has been Raffaello Ragaglini.
Particularly satisfied with the headways made by the Organization he runs, Raffaello Ragaglini emphasized how «thanks to this organization, it is possible to coordinate communication activities at an international level in order to promote pasta and to safeguard its image. With the support of all the members, we are ready to pursue with ever-growing determination the direction we have undertaken to affirm at an international level the principle that pasta, further to being delicious in its simplicity, represents a valid, economically accessible and sustainable food choice».
It is not by chance then that the theme, as the event title suggests, was exactly the valorisation of pasta under the profile of taste, nutritional proprieties and its eco-friendly approach, three of the main reasons behind pasta world success.
