Unbelievable: anti-kabab regulations in Italy...

The local administration in the city of Lucca (Tuscany Region) has recently approved a new regulation which includes the prohibition of "ethnic and kabab restaurants' opening" in the city centre.

The Italian Minister of Agriculture has expressed his personal appreciation for the initiative of the city of Lucca, in the name of the defending of the italian tipical agrofood productions and italian cuisine.

The introduction of this regulation has caused many protests in Italy and abroad, among which those from the British newspapers "Times" and "The Guardian", pushing the Major of Lucca to declare that this regulation will be partly modified even if confirming that "new kabab and fast food restaurants won't be opened in the city centre" and the general regualtion's setting won't be modified.

Someone has tried to tone down protest also by declaring that "ethnic restaurants should use local ingredients at least"...

Some local administrators of the Lega Nord Party have stated that prohibiting the opening of ethnic restaurants in the city centres can contribute "to limit the general degradation accompanying the pullulating of these restaurants".

Lombardy Region is likely to be the first italian region ready to follow the Lucca's example. It seems that the Region Council has launched the law proposal to close ethnic restaurant in the region's area.

It is very difficult for me to comment these news. I'm a convinced supporter of local productions, farm shops, typical food and quality. This doesn't mean that chinese or indian or vietnamese cuisine or food are "enemies": I believe that bad quality, with wherever nationality, is the real enemy of our cuisine, our agrofood products and health.

A good chinese or kabab restaurant will be always preferable to a bad pseudo-typical tuscany restaurant or to a bad neapolitan pizzeria. I think the same about street food: even in this case, bad quality and scarce hygiene are the real enemies raher than street food per sè.

It is not enough to verbally declare quality for typical italian products: concrete actions are necessary indeed. Above all efficient and effective controls are necessary towards all the subjects involved in food production and manipulation.

Italian typical products can be efficently protected and promoted, and city centres valorized, only thanks to quality and realibility rather than discriminatory norms and regulations.

Please, be aware not to be cheated and deceived by these nonsense initiatives...