The 'Made in Italy' label for dairy
products is part of a government decree that has already been
signed, Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said on Tuesday.
The decree, the prime minister said "has already been
signed, it is not a promise", adding that "it was sent to
Brussels" on Monday.
Speaking at a meeting organized by farmers' association
Coldiretti, Renzi said that agriculture was "at the center" of
government action, "after years of being considered as second
division", citing in particular "an ad hoc measure" that will be
included in the "Stability law" to give more opportunities to
small and medium-sized agricultural businesses.
According to data released on Tuesday by Coldiretti, Italy
has become the world's top milk importer.
In particular, three out of four long-life milk cartons
sold in Italy are foreign, while half of the mozzarella cheese
produced in Italy is made with milk imported from abroad,
Coldiretti said, presenting a study on Milk World Day, promoted
by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The farmers' association added that about 24 million liters
of milk and dairy products cross into Italy every day.
An estimated 10% of Italian dairy products have been made
with foreign milk, in particular industrial pre-worked (curd),
"mostly coming from Eastern Europe", used to produce low-cost
mozzarella and other cheeses, according to Coldiretti.
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