Many have tried to produce Italian occasion confectionery and bakery abroad; sometimes even using vegetable fat instead of butter. Yet it is difficult to produce a typical Italian product that meets the appropriate quality levels abroad. It’s thumbs up, therefore, for the export sector, currently only at 11% of national production, as the combination of celebration and occasion confectionery remains a typically Italian consumption pattern. “The tradition of buying such products during the Christmas season is significant, especially in those countries where Italian community is extensive” explains Mario Piccialuti, Director of Aidepi, the Italian Association of Confectionery and Pasta Industries “such as the United States, Canada and Australia. We also have an established flow of products towards Latin America, in particular, Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela, where we are partially affected by the competition from a local producer”.
PANDORO AND PANETTONE: A REFLECTION OF BENCHMARK PROCEDURES
Pandoro and Panettone recipes are among the very few procedures for preparing confectionery prescribed by the law. The 2005 procedural guidelines in fact establish the essential characteristics, along with those of the Colomba, Savoiardi, Amaretto and Soft Amaretto. Among such features, a minimum quantity of 16% butter in the Panettone and even 20% in Pandoro stands out. The product specification defines butterfat as an essential key ingredient to determine the unique quality of our leavened Christmas products and the price increase recorded in the last two seasons now risks jeopardizing the market. Mario Piccialuti points out with concern: “Butter is a product with production limits due to its particular characteristics. If climatic factors lead to a reduction in the quantity of milk available, it is used as is and the butter available in the market decreases inevitably. Moreover, such a situation inevitably lends itself to speculation, which further aggravates the situation. Our association is committed to reporting the situation to both national and international institutions, requesting them to take action”.