Pasta is the world's favourite food

A staple of Italian cuisine, however, pasta is used across the globe.

According to a new survey, pasta is the world's favourite food ahead of meat, rice and pizza, reports Daily Mail.

A global survey by Oxfam saw pasta narrowly top the list thanks to its growing popularity in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Oxfam said the survey of eating habits in 17 countries shows how Western diets have spread across the world.

Pasta comes in 600 different varieties including popular exports like penne and tagliatelle, pasta reigns supreme thanks to its versatility and specialities, said the daily.

Although national dishes are still popular, more than half of the countries polled (which was nine out of 17) listed pizza and pasta in their top three foods.

The exceptions were Tanzania, Russia, Philippines, Pakistan, Mexico, Kenya, India and Ghana.

Pasta ranked as the second most popular food in the UK, behind steak and ahead of chicken. Curry, thought by many to be one of the most popular cuisines in Britain, ranked fourth, said the daily.

Australia surprised many by naming chocolate as its favourite food.

Fast-food chain, McDonald's, despite its worldwide dominance for decades, ranked 113 in the list, the daily revealed. KFC did not fare much better at 107.

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