Consumption of legumes in Italy soars, from beans to chickpeas

Published 2021년 2월 10일

Tridge summary

Consumption of legumes in Italy increased by 15% during the pandemic, with values ranging from +12% for chickpeas to +28% for beans. Legumes are an excellent source of protein, dietary fiber, and minerals, and play an important role in defending soil fertility by fixing nitrogen to the soil. However, national production has drastically reduced due to pressure from low-cost and low-quality product arrivals, leading to a dependence on foreign countries for legume imports, which touched 389 million kilos in Italy, up 27% compared to the previous year. There is a need to ensure that all products that enter national and European borders comply with the same criteria and to review the mechanism of agreements that favor the arrival of foreign products on Italian tables. Consumers are encouraged to prefer legumes that explicitly highlight the national origin on the label.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The consumption of legumes increased by 15% with values ranging from + 12% for chickpeas to + 28% for beans that are classified as the most loved by Italians in the year of the pandemic. This is what emerges from a Coldiretti analysis on Nielsen data in the year ending June 2020 on the occasion of the World Legumes Day established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as an opportunity to raise awareness the benefits of legumes for health and to contribute to sustainable food systems. Growing the demand for legumes was the green turning point in consumers' purchasing choices with the tendency to put healthier foods in the cart, but also the lockdowns that lead to stocking up of long-life food products and the need to contain household costs with affordable products of high nutritional quality. Processed legume flour products such as biscuits, crackers, pasta and bread substitutes are also increasing. On the nutritional front, legumes are an excellent source ...

Source: Campagnamica