SLOW FOOD: MAYBE FIAT CAN DO WITHOUT ITALY, BUT THE FOOD INDUSTRY CANNOT... ALL THE NUMBERS OF THE 2010 EDITION OF SALONE DEL GUSTO

“Maybe Fiat can do without Italy, but the food industry cannot”, quipped the president of Slow Food Italy, Roberto Burdese in reference to the statement by the CEO of the Lingotto, Sergio Marchionne, when he presented the results of the 2010 edition of the taste fair, Salone del Gusto, which ended today in Turin. “The food industry,” he said “is a strategic sector which needs more projects and investments. It’s time to bid, because it is a pillar of the Italian economy. We need certainty”.



Focus - Salone del Gusto, in five days, over 200,000 visitors
In five days more than 200,000 people visited Turin’s Salone del Gusto at the Lingotto: “our goal of 200,000 visitors”, said Roberto Burdese, president of Slow Food Italy, “has been achieved. We have a feeling that the number was even higher”. About 30% of the visitors were foreigners and there was a large number of children, several thousand, who crowded the LingottoFiere and participated in educational activities”.

“There was exceptional participation at the conferences,” continued Burdese, “and the conferences on environmental and social issues were highly appreciated”. According to Slow Food, “the producers are happy with the results. The manufacturers pointed out that there was a slight decline in direct sales, but an increase in business contacts, including foreign countries. And, the public is more and more attentive every year”. The drop in sales, according to Slow Food, can be explained by the increase in the number of exhibitors (620 in 2008 to 910 this year).

“This is the mature Salone del Gusto and one of the finest editions of “Mother Earth,” added the president of Slow Food Italy, Roberto Burdese, “this edition completes the merger between the two events”.

Slow Food calls on the institutions for certainty in the future: “We’re not asking for more money,” said Burdese, “even though the food sector is strategic for Italy and today desperately needs assistance and support, but most of all, it needs projects. It must become one of the fundamental pillars of national economy and this is also why the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre expect to be able to work with reasonable certainty”.

“The success of the Salone del Gusto,” said Alberto Cirio, Minister of Tourism of the Piedmont Region, “is the reason why we will continue to support it. Our observatory recorded extraordinary numbers of tourists in five days, not only in Turin but also in the lake and the Langhe areas”.

According to Alessandro Altamura, Head of Tourism of the Municipality of Turin, “the economic impact of the Salone del Gusto is about 100 million euros. This event is another important step for Turin to become the Italian capital of wine and food”.