Lollobrigida seeks urgent probe into ‘Italian Sounding’ pasta sauces on shelves of European Parliament supermarket.
Italy’s agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida on Tuesday slammed the “unacceptable” sale of fake Italian food products in the European Parliament supermarket.
Lollobrigida, a member of prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party, published images of the offending items on social media: jars of ‘carbonara’ and ‘arrabbiata’ sauces.
“Ignoring the pancetta in carbonara… all these products represent the worst of Italian Sounding” – Lollobrigida fumed on Facebook – “It is unacceptable to see them on the shelves of the European Parliament supermarket. I have asked for an immediate investigation”.
(Carbonara, one of the signature dishes of Roman cuisine, is made with five key ingredients: pasta, guanciale, pecorino, egg, pepper).
Italian Sounding
The issue of “Italian Sounding” – the practice of marketing products, especially food products, using names, images or colours that allude to a non-certified Italian origin – has been known about for some time.
From a regulatory point of view, when a product sold in a European country uses the Italian flag or makes reference to Italy even though it is not Italian, it may constitute misleading representation under EU regulations.
EU quality policy aims to protect the names of specific food products to promote their unique characteristics, linked to their geographical origin and traditions, by granting ‘geographical indication’, a recognition that enables consumers to trust and distinguish quality products.
Counterfeiting
“The scandal of fake Italian products costs our country €120 billion a year, paradoxically resulting in the biggest counterfeiters of Italian excellence being industrialised countries”, according to Coldiretti, Italy’s largest farm and agriculture lobby group.
“Due to the so-called ‘Italian Sounding’ phenomenon, more than two out of three Italian agri-food products worldwide are fake, with no production or employment link to our country”, Coldiretti said in a statement.
The group published a list of the “Top 10 most faked Italian foods”, which is topped by mozzarella, followed by Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, Provolone, Pecorino Romano, salami, mortadella, sughi (sauces), wine, pesto and extra virgin olive oil.
Made in Italy
Last year Italy’s tourism minister Daniela Santanchè, also a member of Fratelli d’Italia, added her voice to the furore after the American food giant Heinz released spaghetti carbonara in a can, a product notably likened to “cat food” by a top chef in Rome.
In 2023 Lollobrigida sparked outrage by claiming that in Italy “the poor often eat better than the rich” because they buy high-quality food at low cost directly from the producer.
The latest ‘Italian Sounding’ controversy comes as Italy steps closer with its bid to gain UNESCO recognition for Italian cuisine, with a final decision expected with a few weeks.
Photo Francesco Lollobrigida – Facebook
