Fairtrade pineapple

The Italian Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia, has sent the issue of local produce right to the top of the news agenda while at the same time risking controversy among the country's fresh produce importers after calling on consumers to boycott pineapples and other out-of-season produce during the December holiday period.

Seeking to assuage consumer concerns following the recent discovery of dioxins in a number of Irish pork products, Mr Zaia underlined the safety and quality of domestically produced pork and in particular zampone (pig's trotters) and cotechino (sausages made from pig's trotter meat), which are a delicacy around Christmas time.

However, he also suggested Italian shoppers ought to refrain from purchasing food products that are not currently in season. 'I imagine a store of the future where the consumer can choose to shopin a Made in Italy department or an International department, becausewe don't like the Europe of multinationals and standardised tastes,' MrZaia told journalists. 'This Christmas, people should eat Italian productssuch as zampone and give them as presents. We've got 4,500 typicalproducts in this country which symbolise Italy. Of course, not all ofthem are available in December, but at least 2,000 are!'

He continued: 'We have to boycott pineapples, as well as all those products thathave nothing to do with Italian agriculture. Yes to zampone and cotechino; no to products that are out of season,which are not part of our tradition and which are often grown incountries where it is still possible to use hepatotoxic and sometimescarcinogenic insecticides.'

Mr Zaia's comments will most likely be of concern to importers of tropical fruits and, in particular, Fairtrade marketers. Pineapples are a popular post-lunch and after-dinner item among a number of Italian families.

Carlo Testini, president of Fairtrade Italia, said the comments could have a major impact on sales: 'The producers we represent as a Fairtrade certification body rely heavily on the increase in trade around this time and would find themselves in serious difficulty if consumption were to fall. What would consumers say if the Minister inivited them not to buy the coffee, chocolate or bananas which aren't produced in Italy?'

Italian pineapple imports rose by 5 per cent last year to 105,000 tonnes, with sales worth some €73m, according to figures published by Istat.

The Italian government recently outlined plans to introduce mandatory country of origin labelling on food products sold in the country.