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
Pasta and labeling of pasta for sale as a food product within the country is highly regulated. Italian regulations recognise three categories of commercially manufactured dried pasta as well as manufactured fresh and stabilized pasta: Pasta, or dried pasta with three subcategories – (i.) Durum wheat semolina pasta ("pasta di semola di grano duro"), (ii.) Low grade durum wheat semolina pasta ("pasta di semolato di grano duro") and (iii.) Durum wheat whole meal pasta ("pasta di semola integrale di grano duro"). Pastas made under this category must be made only with durum wheat semolina or durum wheat whole-meal semolina and water,