García Tejerina: "Spanish food has become a global benchmark for its quality and variety"

Spain has 345 products of differentiated quality

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment has inaugurated the XXXI edition of the Salón de Gourmets 2017, which is being held at the Feria de Madrid.

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La Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, has inaugurated the XXXI edition of the Gourmets Show 2017, which is held at the Madrid Fair (IFEMA), From April 24 to 27, a fair that constitutes "the best showcase of Spanish food, which has become a benchmark worldwide for its quality and variety."

 

Specifically, the minister has pointed out that Spain It has 345 products of differentiated quality, products that last year were exported for a value of 7.000 billion euros. In this regard, Garcia Tejerina He stressed that the presence of Spanish products in the international markets breaks new records every year. Thus, the value of the exports In 2016, exports amounted to 46.800 billion euros, representing a 50% increase over 2011 exports.

 

Support for internationalization

 

On the other hand, García Tejerina has pointed out that the support offered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Environment at the Gourmets Hall constitutes a form of support the internationalization of Spanish agri-food products.

 

En particular, el Department of agriculture offers its support to the country's wine sector in this show, for which it has the participation of the Regulatory councils, companies and associative entities in the sector.

 

As a new feature compared to previous editions, the Ministry has installed the stand «Food Awards of Spain«, intended to promote these awards, the products and companies recognized in recent editions, and where tastings of products provided by the award-winning companies will be offered.

 

"Wine Tunnel"

 

Specifically, the Ministry is participating in the fair with the XXII edition of the Tunnel of Wine, a 450 m2 space located in pavilion 4 of IFEMA, where a total of 299 single-varietal wines from 240 wineries will be on display, selected by specialized sommeliers.

 

Visitors will be able to taste these products in the introductory sessions to the tastings, organised in the morning and afternoon, in which they will learn about the different methods of production and ageing of white, red, rosé and sparkling wines, as well as their different varieties and pairings.

 

In parallel, the Wine Tunnel will host a second tasting room in which the wineries exhibiting at the fair will present their wines and show options for accompanying them with quality products. The sessions will also take place in the morning and afternoon.

 

 

García Tejerina stressed that the presence of Spanish products in international markets breaks new records every year.

 

 

 

"Food of Spain Awards"

 

As a measure to promote the Food Awards of Spain The Department is organizing the event in Hall 4, Stand 4H18, where information and promotional material related to the award-winning products and companies in the various categories in recent editions will be provided: Spanish Food Award, AE Award for Best EVOO, AE Award for Best Cheeses, AE Award for Best Wine and AE Award for Best Ham.

 

In addition, during the four days of celebration of the Gourmet LoungeThe award-winning products and the identification of the award-winning companies will be on display and visitors will be offered tastings of these products.

 

The tasting calendar will also be published on the agri-food promotion website www.alimentacion.es, on the website of the International Gourmets Fair and at the stand.

 

Gourmet lounge

 

El Salón de Gourmets, Quality Food and Beverage Fair was founded in 1987 with the aim of being a venue for high-end food and beverage products, and with the aim of promoting its distinctive values: naturalness, diversity and quality.

 

The Salón de Gourmets is the only fair of Europe dedicated to delicatessen products and has become a leading national and international benchmark for gastronomic and agri-food products, especially those covered by quality labels.

 

In this edition, and due to the growing demand for participation applications, its exhibition space will be expanded, occupying pavilions 2, 4, 6 and 8 of IFEMA.

 

During the fair, more than 700 activities will be offered, including innovative new features, to both visitors and industry professionals, as well as to the more than 1.000 accredited journalists and media. These activities include workshops, live cooking, tastings, presentations, prize-givings and competitions.

 

Last year's edition saw the show visited by around 84.100 professionals and saw the participation of 1.422 exhibitors, which translated into an offer of 35.000 high-quality products. Wine Tunnel It was visited by 28.700 people, 11,24% more than the previous edition.