Italy's famous Slow Food movement is set to make hospital meals tastier, healthier, cheaper and more fun.
Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini met Health Minister Livia Turco Tuesday and signed an agreement aimed at raising eating standards by using the best of the fresh, healthy local produce Italy is renowned for.
Bland soup and overcooked pasta will make way for quality menus and solitary meals will be replaced by patients getting round a table to really enjoy the experience, Turco said.
"Food helps boost a patient both physically and psychologically," Turco said, "so we should aim for the highest standards".
"Meals will become a moment of conviviality, in comfortable surroundings," she added.
"Sometimes even little things can change someone's sense of dignity, especially in a hospital.
She said even the best hospitals needed "waves of human warmth".
Petrini, whose movement is famous for upholding traditional eating and resisting the assault of food multinationals, said:
"Instead of homogenised stuff trucked in from who knows where, patients will get the best traditional fare from local farmers".
He said the move aimed to show small-scale quality distribution could be cheaper than mass-market methods.
"We mean to show you can raise standards while cutting costs," he said.
Turco agreed, pointing out that by sourcing food locally, distribution costs would be slashed.
"We'll hit two birds with one stone - and boost the local economy too," she said.
Italian hospitals serve 240 million meals every year - half of which end up being thrown away.
