ROME – On the 22nd November, the “Drink well to grow well” conference was held in Rome, promoted by FEMTEC (World Federation of Hydrotherapy and Climatherapy) and SIPPS (Società Italiana di Pediatria Preventiva e Sociale) with the support of the Sanpellegrino Group. At the meeting, Stefano Agostini, Chairman and CEO of the Sanpellegrino Group, outlined the main projects involving the company’s commitment to promoting the value of mineral water and proper hydration for all generations.
Sanpellegrino's commitment
For years Sanpellegrino, together with the valuable work of the professors of the Sanpellegrino Observatory, has been involved in projects and campaigns aimed at promoting accurate information on the role of hydration on an individual’s mental and physical well-being. A commitment that we have been pursuing almost single-handedly, but one which we have always felt fitting for a company, like ours, that is one of the market’s leading players of a resource as valuable as water.
The value of mineral water
Mineral water is the only resource that must receive special recognition from the Ministry of Health to be labelled as such and also must, by law (Decree Law n.105 of 1992), come from aquifers or underground reservoirs, to be bottled pure at the source and not undergo any processing. What sets it apart is the consistency over time of its essential characteristics that can have beneficial effects on human health.
Mineral water is, in fact, more than just water, it is a mix of natural dissolved elements (mineral salts) acquired over the course of its long underground journey (San Pellegrino water takes over 20 years) that play an important role in all cellular metabolic processes. Every consumer should therefore freely choose their water to suit their own requirements in terms of taste and well-being.
Partnerships with FEMTEC and SIPPS
Last year at EXPO, our established partnership with FEMTEC experienced one of its finest moments in the creation of the International Consensus “Water & Health”, developed by FEMTEC and the WHO. A document that we believe is valuable because it asserts a reality that we seek to communicate in all our activities: proper hydration should not be supplementary to proper nutrition but must be given its own separate focus, as an important factor for the well-being of individuals. Between 2015 and 2016, we wanted to add another important element. This is how our partnership with SIPPS was borne. When it comes to hydration, children are, as with so many other issues, a delicate target, requiring attention with special tools and projects.
Focus on children
This is the reason why some time ago we launched an initiative for schools called hydration@school. The project, aimed at primary schools throughout Italy, offers a stimulating course on the issue of hydration and healthy lifestyles. Central to the initiative is the website (www.hydrationatschool.it), which contains teaching materials, videos and information sheets with activities, tests and experiments to be performed in class. Teachers may also request a completely free practical teaching kit to supplement the on-line materials that will be sent directly to their school.
We are now on the third edition of the project. Over the course of these last few years, there have been 37,000 teachers informed on the initiative, of which 2,500 have actively taken part, with over 5,800 classes and almost 130,000 students.
by Alessandro Conte
November 23, 2016
