Several key industry leaders have rallied against a World Health Organization report that calls for governments and national institutions to reduce citizens' salt and sugar intake as a move towards a healthier diet. The report, titled 'Time to Deliver,' does not directly threaten the status of any Italian products, although some of the language used has set alarm bells ringing.

One of the WHO's objectives in the report states: "Reduce salt intake through the reformulation of food products to contain less salt and the setting of target levels for the amount of salt in foods and meals." It also aims to "reduce salt intake through the implementation of front-of-pack labelling," in the same way that cigarette packets carry health warnings. Italian stakeholders fear this could affect some of Italy's biggest gastronomic delicacies, such as parmesan, Parma ham and olive oil, according to an inquiry by Il Sole 24 Ore.