Gaetana Ferri, General Director of Food Safety and Nutrition of the Ministry of Health, intervenes at the Food Journalism Festival to recall how the relationship between nutrition and health is undoubted: "By eating properly, you can also be cured and, of course, you can prevent many illnesses. Already through primary care pediatricians, correct nutrition policies can be disseminated. However, the intervention of the subjects who market and propose the food is indispensable ”.
In the 2016 a document was drawn up which generated a State-Regions conference agreement for the evaluation of national critical issues in the nutritional field and intervention strategies.
The ministry has established a technical table with observatory functions around which various professionals belonging to institutions, the scientific world and the academic world will produce monitoring data in agreement with the regions to produce activities aimed at a real national program.
Guidelines have already been developed for school, hospital and welfare catering and breastfeeding, which supports proper nutrition from birth, and awareness projects against obesity.
Through, for example, "Maestra Natura" - an innovative food program aimed at students and teachers of primary and secondary schools and which has already involved 55.000 students - a real experiential path is undertaken which teaches students where the food comes from , what is it and how it works. Through the use of an e-learning platform, also accessible to parents, it can be used by everyone and followed independently, at school and at home.
Even the agreements for a better nutritional offer made with the industry have already yielded results. Prompted to reduce portions, healthy fats, sugars and salt in favor of fibers, the food industry has produced packaged foods, including the reviled snacks, lighter and healthier.
An agreement was also made with the Italian federation of cooks to make the cooks aware of how to approach a healthier kitchen and rework traditional recipes in healthy terms.
Finally, the Advertising Institute was commissioned to monitor commercial communications relating to beverages and foods broadcast during children's programs.
