Bolognese sauce tagliatelle made with eggs and northern Italy’s soft wheat flour. Acceptable alternatives to fresh tagliatelle include other broad flat pasta shapes, such as pappardelle or fettuccine, and tube shapes, such as rigatoni and penne. While the main complaint of traditionalists is against the use of spaghetti rather than fresh tagliatelle for the pasta, native Bolognese Piero Valdiserra has argued that "spaghetti could be considered traditional in Bologna", even though tagliatelle is the "most suitable" pasta. "Ragù alla bolognese" along with "béchamel" is also used by many Italian chefs to prepare traditional baked lasagna in Bolognese style. Gruppo Virtuale Cuochi Italiani
National Pasta Association National Pasta Association The National Pasta Association (NPA) is a trade association of professionals in the United States pasta industry. The NPA originally formed as The National Association of Macaroni and Noodle Manufacturers of America in 1904, making it one of the oldest trade associations in the United States. The first commercial pasta plant in the United States was founded in 1848 in Brooklyn, New York. By the turn of the century, the pasta industry had reached a growth point that triggered a large group of industry members to assemble in Pittsburgh for a discussion of manufacturing and marketing issues.