Mediterranean diet tipped to make World Heritage list

THE UNESCO World Heritage lists, which celebrate sites ranging from the Great Barrier Reef to the Tower of London, are about to be livened up by an unusual new culinary entry: the Mediterranean diet.

Alongside crumbling castles and Greek temples, the United Nations is set to add a salad of tomato and mozzarella, topped off by a splash of virgin olive oil, to its miscellany of global patrimony worth protecting.

The Mediterranean diet, with its mix of fresh fruit and vegetables, grilled fish and lashings of olive oil favoured in Italy, Greece and Spain, faces a final vote in November for ranking on UNESCO’s lesser-known list of ”intangible” cultural heritage, covering oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festivals.

A plate of pasta washed down with a glass of wine could join the list of 178 not-to-be-missed cultural experiences including the tango, the polyphonic singing of the Aka Pygmies of central Africa, and Croatian lacemaking.