Consumers choose Italian products for their quality and safety and to support the national economy.

Whether we are shopping for meat, fish, milk or cheese, or even fruit and vegetables, a survey by Nielsen in 2016 revealed that Italians know what exactly they want: seven out of ten prefer domestic products. The reasons are many and influence consumer choices to different extents. The lion’s share however does not follow the thinking that Made in Italy means a product is better, in fact the percentage of Italians who choose a product for its taste is only 30%. The percentages are higher for those shoppers who go for the reliability of a product (just under 50%) and those who want to support the national economy (over 60%). And, last but not least, 13% of consumers put their preference for Italian products down to national pride.  The demand for Italian products is at odds with the difficulty of obtaining reliable information about the origin of a product or its place of transformation. This demand for transparency was not helped by the European regulation of 2014 which abolished the obligation of indicating the facility where a product was produced on the label. After a two-year battle, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural Policies, backed by consumer associations, obtained permission to maintain this obligation on Italian products destined for the domestic market. “This victory – declared minister Maurizio Martina – spurs us on in our battle, which we will take to Europe too, to promote the unique quality of our food, the only one of its kind in the world”. This landmark victory is important for consumers and endorses and recognises the decisions of food manufacturers, like Fumagalli, who for years have been processing and manufacturing their products in their own factories which are all located within Italy.