Making a statement as part of the World Pasta Day events, IPO President Carl Zuanelli said, "Pasta is simplicity, hospitality, sharing, it can be an excellent food that symbolizes healing."
Imagine an “extraordinarily long snake” of over 7 million kilometres, long enough to get to the Moon and back 10 times or to travel around the equator 190 times: this is the length we would get if we were to line up all the packets of spaghetti, fusilli & co eaten around the world in 2020. We are talking about 17 million tons of pasta, 1 million more than the previous record in 2019 and twice as much as ten years ago. In this perfect embrace, pasta, the ultimate comfort food, has united the world during its most difficult year, helping to warm the hearts of millions of people and to nourish them in a healthy and sustainable way. And once again in 2021, in occasion of World Pasta Day (25 October), pasta makers show their commitment to feeding the planet and reaffirm the symbolic value of getting together and sharing a plate of pasta.
World Pasta Day, an event designed and curated by IPO (International Pasta Organisation) and the Unione Italiana Food, takes place every year on the 25th of October to celebrate and talk about the signature dish of the Mediterranean Diet. This year, for the 23rd edition, it has matched pasta against the important theme of recovering from the pandemic and its repercussions on the economy, employment, and the emotional wellbeing of a large part of society. According to OXFAM, 20 million people have reached extreme levels of food insecurity so far in 2021, bringing the total to 155 million people in 55 countries.
PASTA IS THE PERFECT FOOD SYMBOL OF HEALING
Making a statement as part of the World Pasta Day events, IPO President Carl Zuanelli said, "Pasta is simplicity, hospitality, sharing, it can be an excellent food that symbolizes healing."
“During the most difficult months we pasta makers have felt the responsibility of making sure consumers all over the world never run out of pasta”, claims Carl Zuanelli, President of IPO, “with the same sense of responsibility we accompany them on the road to recovery with the daily pleasures of our product: a spaghetti feast with the family, dinner out at a restaurant… paying special attention to those struggling the most: since forever pasta has been made with simple ingredients, it is welcoming and understated like an informal lunch with friends, it is sociable and lively, it is a family tradition that warms us up every day.”
ANTI-WASTE PASTA, ALSO MADE ANTI-CRISIS THROUGH PASSIVE COOKING
Pasta has always been a sustainable and anti-waste choice. As the protagonist of countless anti-waste and day-after recipes, pasta has an environmental impact (from production to transformation to consumption) of only 1 square metre per portion (i.e. the measurement of the biologically productive area of sea and land necessary to regenerate the resources consumed during production), with an important ecological footprint of just 150 grams of CO2 equivalent. In addition, its packaging materials can be 100% recycled. Through “passive” cooking (cooking pasta indirectly away from heat) or using a pressure cooker (cooking pasta together with its sauce) gas and electricity are saved. In view of the projected increases in electricity costs during the autumn months, these environmental benefits also translate into economic savings for families.
WORLD PASTA DAY: GIFT OF TURKISH INDUSTRIALISTS
October 25 is celebrated as World Pasta Day with the proposal made by Turkish pasta manufacturers to the International Pasta Organization (IPO). Pasta, which is one of the most practical delicacies in the world, is one of the indispensable foods of almost everyone, young and old, men and women, after bread. It can be consumed with sauce, yogurt or plain.
The celebration of October 25 as the World Pasta Day was accepted with the proposal of Turkish pasta industrialists to the International Pasta Organization (IPO). Dating back to ancient times, pasta brings taste, health and practicality to the tables of millions of people every day. Pasta, which is enjoyed by people of all ages, meets the expectations of a food with its high nutritional value, delicious taste, reasonable price and long shelf life.
World Pasta Day has been celebrated on 25 October every year since 1998 in order to emphasize the importance of pasta, which allows people to eat economical, satisfying and delicious meals. World Pasta Day emerged as the idea of Turkish pasta producers. This special day, which has been celebrated on October 25 every year since 1998, brings pasta producers together in events. World Pasta Day was started to be celebrated for the first time in Naples, Italy in 1998 and it has been celebrated with great enthusiasm in different countries around the world since then.
Pasta, like other grain foods, is high in carbohydrates and is also a good source of protein. Turkey is an important exporter country by exporting pasta to 156 countries.