Local consumers and food providers were equipped with more knowledge to identify genuine Italian products at the “True Italian Taste – Olive Oil” workshop, which was held on Friday with the aim of promoting trade and investment between Italy and Vietnam, according to the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (ICHAM).

ICHAM Chairman Michele D'Ercole addresses the workshop about olive oil. Photo: Nhat Minh

Italian Ambassador Antonio Alessandro, ICHAM Chairman Michele D'Ercole, and Brand Ambassador of True Italian Taste – former Miss Vietnam Ngoc Han were on hand.

“In many countries around the world, Italian products are suffering from “Italian sounding” when local companies produce counterfeit products and use the Italian brand name to cheat local consumers. This causes significant economic losses for Italian food producers as well as a loss of consumer benefits,” ICHAM Chairman Michele D'Ercole told Hanoitimes.

Speaking at the workshop, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro shared his view about the origin of olive oil: “Olive oil, the main element of the Italian cuisine, is similar to fish sauce in the Vietnamese cuisine. Production of olive oil spreads out across Italy and more than 1,000 Italian businesses manufacture olive oil.”

Italy is the second largest exporter of olive oil after Spain and the biggest consumer of the product in the world. As it is one of the agricultural items, the production of olive oil depends much on natural conditions, the Italian Ambassador said.

In Vietnam, imported olive oil from Italy is modest, with a value of approximately EUR3.3 million (US$3.7 million), but the Mediterranean country remains the main supplier of olive oil to Vietnam, representing almost half the volume of this product in Vietnam.

The workshop provided knowledge on the history of olive oil, its elaboration process as well as how to combine Italian ingredients with olive oil to have the best nutrition for health. 

Through the event, importers, food distributors, and related companies will learn more  about the Italian pasta, so that their customers will be able to enjoy genuine Italian products. 

True Italian Taste is a national culinary promotion project that has been operating in 40 countries and territories since 2018. In Asia, five countries were selected within the program including Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore and Vietnam.