There is no longer a stop to worldwide imitations of gastronomic Made in Italy being attacked on all five continents. Precisely on the day when an interesting – and long-awaited – arrives judgment of the European Court of Justice on the case that saw the producers of the Spanish cheese Queso Manchego dop oppose a company that used symbols easily attributable to the territory of La Mancha in the packaging of a non-dop product, the latest overall data on the value of the fake made in Italy agri-food arrives to the ceiling of 100 billion in value.
Going by order, the sentence issued by the European Court of Justice, even if it concerns a Spanish case, will have important effects for the protection of Italian DOPs, in fact, ours is the European country with the largest number of PDO and PGI agri-food products recognized by the Union. The judges of the court write that "Symbols and images that refer to the origin of a PDO food product can constitute an illegal evocation of the brand”. And they then leave the administration of the but still taking into account the EU directive to the competent national bodies.
This ruling offers a 270 Italian protection consortiawhich represent 863 geographical indications for a production value that exceeds 15,2 billion euros and has 197.000 employed operators an even greater opportunity to carry on the challenge of international protection of our products.
Bad news instead comes from the data on fake made in Italy. Over the last decade, as a result of international piracy which improperly uses words, colours, locations, images, denominations and recipes that recall Italy for counterfeit foods that have nothing to do with the national production system counterfeits have increased by 70 percent, reaching a record value of 100 billion. This is what emerges from the Coldiretti and Filiera Italia analysis on the occasion of the opening of TUTTOFOOD, the World Food Exhibition which takes place at the Milan Fair until 9 May where an exhibition was set up on "The deception of fake Made in Italy in dish". A phenomenon that risks multiplying with the new trade wars starting with the US tariffs on the European Union. To detonate the fake, that robs Italy of three hundred thousand jobs, was paradoxically the "hunger" of Made in Italy abroad with the proliferation of low cost imitations but also the trade wars resulting from political tensions, as demonstrated by the Russian embargo, with a real boom in the local production of Made in Italy food Fake Italy, from Italian salami to “Casa Italia” mozzarella, from “Buona Italia” salad to Robiola, but also Milan mortadella, Parmesan or burrata, all rigorously made in Putin's country.
What is worrying now - Coldiretti and Filiera Italia continue - is the emergence of protectionist measures and the closure of borders starting from Trump's threat is put tariffs on European products with the publication of a black list of European products to be hit for a total amount of 11 billion dollars which also includes important agro-food products of national interest such as wines including Prosecco and Marsala, cheeses, but also olives, citrus fruits, grapes, jams, fruit juices, water and spirits among the food and beverages affected. With duties the prices of Italian products on the American market would increase and counterfeits would be more competitive obtained on US territory and those from countries not affected by Trump's measures. Just think about that 90% of Italian-type cheeses in the USA are actually made in Wisconsin, California and New York, from Parmesan to Romano without sheep's milk, from Asiago to Gorgonzola up to Fontiago, an improbable mix between Asiago and Fontina. But the problem concerns all product categories such as Pompeian oil made in the USA, the most prestigious cured meats, from imitations of Parma and San Daniele to Bologna mortadella or Milan salami, without forgetting tomatoes, such as the San Marzano which is produced in California and sold throughout the United States. A danger that also concerns Brexit since in the event of Great Britain leaving without an agreement with the European Union, the same legal protection of products with designation of origin would not be guaranteed which, without European protection, risk suffering unfair competition from products of imitation. Just think of the cases, unmasked in the past in Great Britain, of the sale of fake prosecco on tap or in cans up to wine kits or parmesan kits.
Despite the record set in the Made in Italy agri-food exports which in 2018 reached a value of 41,8 billion, today more than two out of three Italian-type products sold in the world are fake with the phenomenon of the so-called Italian sounding which affects all products to varying degrees, from cured meats to preserves, from wine to cheeses but also extra virgin olive oil, sauces or pasta and concerns all continents. In reality, unlike what happens for other items such as fashion or technology, it is not the poor countries that fake Italian food, but above all the emerging or richer ones, starting from the United States and Australia. At the top of the ranking of the most fake products according to Coldiretti are cheeses, starting with Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, with the production of copies that has exceeded that of the originals, from Brazilian parmesao to Argentine reggianito up to parmesan widespread in all the continents. But there are also imitations of Provolone, Gorgonzola, Pecorino Romano, Asiago or Fontina. Among the cured meats, the most prestigious are cloned, from Parma to San Daniele, but also Bologna mortadella or hunter salami and extra virgin olive oil or preserves such as San Marzano tomato which is produced in California and sold throughout the United States. From the Argentine Bordolino in the white and red version complete with the tricolor flag to the German Kressecco, in addition to the white Barbera produced in Romania and the Chianti made in California, the South American and US Marsala are instead just a few examples of the counterfeits and imitations of our wines and most prestigious liqueurs.
