Italian Premier Matteo Renzi symbolically "adopted" Italian cheeses at Milan's Expo World Fair on Tuesday to highlight the country's opposition to European Commission demands to lift a ban on the use of powdered milk in dairy production.
"This is an important gesture," said farming organisation Coldiretti, pointing to the upcoming September 29 deadline by which time Italy needs to respond to the commission's official demands for it to end the ban.
"The go-ahead for powdered milk threatens to make 487 traditional cheeses disappear," said Coldiretti. "This is a deception of consumers which threatens gastronomic heritage that has been protected for generations, and will have effects on the economic, occupational and environmental level," it said.
Dairy products made using milk powder cannot enter the Italian market under a law which aims to protect Italian food quality standards. However, the EU has said the law restricts the free movement of goods.
"With one kilo of milk powder, which costs two euros on the international market, you can produce 10 litres of milk, 15 mozzarellas and 64 yoghurt pots, all with the same identical taste. We will lose the distinctiveness that can be produced only by using fresh milk," Coldiretti said.
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