Italy is dropping €120 billion annually because of the ‘Italian-sounding’ phenomenon, whereby counterfeit Italian agri-food merchandise, missing any real hyperlink to Italian manufacturing or employment, flood international markets.
This alarming determine was reported by Coldiretti, Italy’s largest farmers’ affiliation, following feedback from Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, who found quite a few ersatz Italian sauces and gravies, together with ‘carbonara’ and ‘arrabbiata’, in a Delhaize grocery store within the European Parliament.
The ‘carbonara’, specifically, highlighted in a Fb submit by Lollobrigida, is a main instance of a broadly counterfeited recipe discovered overseas.
Variations embrace using cream in Belgium, bacon as a substitute of conventional guanciale in Anglo-Saxon nations, and Romano cheese as a substitute of Pecorino in the USA.
The presence of ‘Bolognese sauce’ additionally drew consideration, because it’s typically a ‘tourist-catching’ speciality with no true culinary custom in Italy.
In accordance with Coldiretti, no less than two out of three Italian agri-food merchandise offered worldwide are counterfeits.
Paradoxically, industrialised nations are among the many largest culprits on this ‘scandal of pretend Italian merchandise’.
Most-Faked Italian Delicacies
Cheeses are probably the most continuously counterfeited Italian merchandise.
Iconic names like Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano are extensively faked, alongside Mozzarella, Provolone, Gorgonzola, Pecorino Romano, Asiago and Fontina.
They’re adopted by prestigious cured meats, comparable to San Daniele ham and Mortadella, in addition to extra-virgin olive oil, preserves, and even particular fruit and greens, like San Marzano tomatoes.
Whereas the USA leads within the general quantity of counterfeiting, imitation Italian cheeses are pervasive throughout the globe, from Australia and South America to the European market itself.
The pattern has even led to the provision of ‘magic containers’ in some nations, permitting customers to make ‘home-made’ typical Italian cheeses, wines and cured meats in just some days.
Coldiretti’s High-Ten Listing
Mozzarella
Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano
Provolone
Pecorino Romano
Salami
Mortadella
Sauces
Wine
Pesto
Additional-virgin olive oil
