Pasta protest urged in Italy as food prices boil over

Shoppers walk past a large poster outside a supermarket (AP)

A consumer group is calling for a “pasta strike” in Italy as the price of the staple soars by more than twice the rate of inflation.

The Assoutenti advocacy group is urging a week-long national pasta strike starting on June 22 after the government in Rome held a crisis meeting last month and decided not to intervene on prices.