ROME – Italy moves in to first position with the greatest number of Traditional Agricultural Products (PAT) of all European countries, as it closes in on the 5,000 mark, an official within the Ministry of food and agriculture reports.

 The official figure which stands at 4,965 registered Typical Agricultural Products, confirms the significance of food within the Italian culture and the respect and appreciation of the Italians towards their native and historic cuisine.

 The prerequisites state that PAT products must be “obtained using working, conserving and curing methods consolidated over time – a period of no less than 25 years – homogenous across the area concerned and adhering to traditional rules”.

 Italy’s recent slip in to the lead has come as a result of the addition of 84 PAT products following the 16^th revision of the national list of such products within the autonomous regions and provinces of Trento and Bolzano, MIPAAF (the Italian Ministry of Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies) confirms.

 The new PAT additions that push Italy in to the lead in the gastronomic field, demonstrate the vitality of this sector, in which interest and dedication continually grow and in which more old-fashioned values are respected and cherished in a combination of tradition and innovation.

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