ITALMOPA forays into Indian market by launching EU co-funded "Pure Flour from Europe" campaign

New Delhi

ITALMOPA, the Italian Association of Millers, has launched a strategic initiative to promote exports of soft wheat flour into India called “Pure Flour from Europe” (PFFE).

The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the versatile, high-quality, unadulterated and safe flour.

The campaign is co-funded by the European Commission (EC) and is devoted to creating awareness of the superior quality and uniqueness of soft wheat flour from Europe and from Italy. It is a flour perfect for both classic European and Italian recipes as well as local specialties, says the PFFE press release.

The European milling industry, says the release, ensures the production of high-quality flours starting from the selection of the best grains, a skilful mix of tradition combined with cutting-edge technology while adhering to stringent quality standards. Currently, Italy is the main European Union (EU) exporting country of wheat flour in India.

According to the release, the PFFE campaign will last three years: there will be consumer and trade events, and product demonstrations led by chefs featuring well-loved Italian foods such as pizza, pasta, pastries and bread. In addition, an educational tour to Italy is being planned.

Detailing India-specific plans, two of Italy's finest producers of quality flours, Antimo Caputo from Molino Caputo and Riccardo Agugiaro from Le 5 Stagioni explain, “We foresee immense growth opportunities in India for soft wheat flour from Italy thanks to higher disposable incomes coupled with a burgeoning young population whose growing preference toward European bakery products like pizzas, breads, cakes etc, is enthusiastic.”

Elaborating further, they added, "Italy as a member of the EU ensures food safety and quality, a characteristic which means its flour products have gained a reputation of quality worldwide.”

Most importantly, quality and safety checks are applied to all production stages, from the arrival of the wheat to the distribution of flour, says the release. Each step of the way, flour production is controlled and recorded by a computerized traceability system, which allows the entire production chain of a batch of flour to be reconstructed and tracked, protecting consumer and public health.

The release says that the EU milling industry has a very stringent body of regulations, carrying out thousands of tests and cross-checks by independent and accredited laboratories. The production process is simple and clean, and continues to improve sustainable management by saving energy, reducing air emissions and using by-products.

Founded in 1958 and based in Rome, ITALMOPA is the most important industrial flour association in the EU representing 82 flour milling companies across Italy.