The Food Roots luncheon presentation took place at the Toronto Intercontinental Hotel on December 4, 2008.

It was the only Canadian date of the program’s international tour.  Presented by Buonitalia Spa and the Italian Association of Geographical Indication Consortia (AICIG), with the collaboration of Retecamere,  the program builds on the success of Europe’s Geographical Indication project and will educate the Canadian agri-food industry on the tangible benefits of promoting local and protected product.  

Guests included food associations, recognized chefs, wine producers and leaders in the industry.  “We are pleased to present Food Roots to an esteemed audience,” says Dr. Pier Maria Saccani. “Canada’s activity in this area has been widely recognized and we aim to provide further insight into the correlation between local food production and the economy.”  
Geographical Indications (GI) highlight a territory’s product, quality and tradition, and encourage a product to be recognized due to its geographical origin. Geographical Indications offer increased value to food production and stimulate the economic activities of a particular geographic region.  Well-known examples of Italy’s Geographical Indications program include Prosciutto di Parma, Gorgonzola and Parmigiano Reggiano.   

“It is crucial that we develop programs that support and improve the value of local food production”, states Paolo Ponti, Italian Trade Commissioner. “The Italian Trade Commission is pleased to organize this prestigious event in collaboration with Retecamere and create a dialogue between critical voices in the field.”   Canada has gained an international reputation for driving the local food movement and the GI International Cooperation Project is pleased that their North American debut will happen in Toronto.

“The successful promotion of locally grown product is happening in nearly every sector, the local food movement has gone mainstream in Canada”, says Ponti.   Food Roots has met the approval of EU-based agri-food associations, including Cnaol (French Dairy Industry Association), the Association of Budweiser Brewery (Czech Republic) and OriGIn (Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network).   Guest speakers included Dr. Paolo Ponti (Italian Trade Commissioner), Walter Brunello (Chairman Buonitalia Spa), Dr. Pier Maria Saccani (Secretary General of AICIG), and Fred Kingston (Senior Advisor Economic and Cultural Affairs, Delegation of the European Delegation in Canada).      

ICE Toronto : Benedetta Marassi – Paolo Ponti - Piero Titone
Tel:(416) 598.1566
Fax: (416) 598.1610
E-mail: toronto.toronto@ice.it