L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 3 minds of, what should be called, "Mediterranean lifestyle." Let's start with the opening remarks of Antonio Verde, Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles. How does the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable (MDR) position itself, within the context of a wider safeguarding of "Made in Italy"? Italy has always been very active in protecting our most important assets, including a culi- nary tradition that is renowned around the world, and rightly so. Also in recent years, a 2009 Italian law stated very clearly that solely products, totally made in Italy (design, production and packaging), are entitled to display the labels Made in Italy, 100% Made in Italy, as well as the National flag. The law also makes provision for sanctions against counterfeit- ers of such denominations, including pecuniary penalties and confiscations. Another step forward was taken on January 2014, when Google Cultural Institute – the digital archive created by Google - in collaboration with the Italian government and the Italian Chamber of Commerce - intro- duced an online promotional pro- ject, featuring virtual showrooms about a series of prestigious Made in Italy products. In the framework of a national strategy that identifies the Mediterranean Diet as a world- wide promotion and safeguard instrument of Made In Italy, the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable was officially launched last April 5, at a press conference, held at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome. The important event, orga- nized by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West (IACCW) on April 20-21, is part of this very strategy here in the US and it has proved to be a great success. My impression, from attend- ing the first day of the event, is that the attendance was pretty wide. However, the audience was mostly made of profession- als, working in the health and nutrition sectors. How could the conference appeal more to the general public? I believe that the attendance of those professionals at the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable is of extreme importance. Matter of fact, they act as pre- cious testimonials, able to rein- force the message towards the general public. Does the Italian Consulate plan for other healthy food- related events in the Los Angeles area, in the near future? Certainly, we do. We are plan- ning a rich calendar of Italian food-related initiatives, in partner- ship with the Italian Chamber of Commerce, as well as the entire "Team Italy," which also includes the Italian Trade Agency, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Tourist Board. Among the various events that we are organizing, next fall, we would like also to invite here some famous Italian chefs, to make even more visible the pre- cious contribution that a healthy, and tasty, diet may offer to the human well-being. Stay tuned! The second spokeswoman is none other than the founder and one of the main organizers of the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable (MDR), Daniela Puglielli. Please, introduce yourself. What is your cultural back- ground? I would define myself as both eclectic and enthusiast. I hold a Musical Diploma in Piano and a Master in Communications from the University of Turin, Italy. I have been in marketing and PR for more than 2 decades, directing my own agency (Accent PR, LLC) for the past 15 years. I moved to the States to follow my husband's dream as a researcher, soon finding my unique niche in the Italian mar- ketplace. With a strong background in Food and Market Analysis, I recently realized that the "Made in Italy" was not as widespread as we like to think. There are still huge opportunities to capitalize on. Hence the idea of creating a discussion around a hot topic such as the Mediterranean Diet, linking its benefits to a possible boost of authentic imports. The project is actually address- ing the potential of the entire Mediterranean basin, but, of course, Italy is the quintessence of the Mediterranean cuisine. As founder of the Mediterranean Diet Round table, inaugurated last year in NYC, what challenges did you encounter? And what goals did you achieve? The Mediterranean Diet Roundtable is completely funded by Accent PR and by very few sponsors. This approach allows us to maximize freedom in the plan- ning and also in "experimenting" the best format. It was a bet not many would have taken, but since the first edi- tion, the MDR received an over- whelming positive response, which encouraged me to progress with a second edition. Academics from leading uni- versities, as well as stellar Food Service professionals, all took part enthusiastically to the MDR. The main goal is to group together an elite of super-powers and decision-makers in sectors, Consul General of Italy, Antonio Verde at the MDR. Photo Courtesy of A. Verde Continued from page 1 LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY Continued to page 4

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