21 NOVEMBER IS SANDWICH DAY
How many deli meats do you know? Starting from this question, ASSICA launched on the occasion of the Italian Sandwich Day, which was celebrated on 21 November, an invitation to deli meat producers, counter operators and bartenders to propose to consumers a sandwich with a never-before-tried deli meat. The Day is a way to give prominence to territorial specialities and to make people understand how ancient, deep-rooted and noble the tradition of pork products is in our country, where we have 21 PDO and 22 PGI branded specialities: even more are those belonging to each region that has kept the traditional recipes alive, without affecting their authenticity.
Celebrated for the first time last year, the Day of the Italian Sandwich does justice to this dish, a daily companion from childhood, for snacks or recreation, through to lunch breaks at work, out-of-town trips or the most sought-after gourmand versions. And the sandwich could not exist without deli meats, companion par excellence. Cold cuts remain one of the favourite foods of Italians: in 2021 the apparent consumption per capita, considering the population trend and the lower presence of tourists, grew by 5.4%, settling at around 17.0 kg against 16.2 in 2020 (Assica data).
With the ‘Trust Your Taste, CHOOSE EUROPEAN QUALITY’ project, the Association of Meat and Deli Meat Industries is working first and foremost to raise awareness of its supply chain, to stimulate operators’ pride and for them to become an active part of the promotion of their products, to enhance their production culture and values, both nutritional and in terms of safety, quality and sustainability. Hence the invitation to suggest new flavours to consumers and to surprise them by also offering specialities from other regions or lesser-known deli meats in their outlets.
