A disturbing "collection" of the most scandalous food products sold worldwide with names that recall the episodes, characters and forms of organized crime which belong to the more banal stereotype of anti-Italianness: in Palermo Coldiretti and Filiera Italia showcased the business of malfeasance. What is striking is that these products inspired by the mafia and underworld often come from European countries or those close to us.
It goes from “Cosa nostra” whiskey complete with a bottle in the shape of a machine gun which is sold in Scotland al Portuguese wine Talha Mafia “Pistol” complete with a stylized bloodstain on the package 3 liter bag-in-box. We continue with the Mafiozzo coffee produced in Bulgaria and Don Marco's Mafia Coffee Rub made in Germany, but also the Two Pig Mafia salt and pepper seasoning and a condiment for roast meat, such as the PorkMafia Texas Gold which, however, does not come from the USA but from Finland.
The "mafia style" alarm for the Italian agri-food sector concerns a turnover of millions of euros
The "mafia style" alarm for the Italian agri-food sector launched by Coldiretti and Filiera Italia concerns a turnover for millions of euros of turnover generated by the use of names linked to organized crime. A gallery of horrors that affects the real Made in Italy made thanks to the commitment of hundreds of thousands of honest entrepreneurs who work to offer the highest quality products. This was discussed at the Coldiretti Village in Palermo where over the weekend it is possible to touch the primates of national agri-food among farms, companies of excellence in the Italian supply chain and peasant cooks.
The gallery of horrors continues with the “Chilli Mafia” snacks that can be bought in Great Britain. And if in Germany you can find the spices “Palermo Mafia shooting”, in Brussels there is salsa “Sauce Maffia” to season the fries and the “SauceMaffioso”, while in America, in Missouri, the “Wicked Cosa Nostra” sauce. In Germany, they also drink the "Fernet Mafiosi", complete with a drawing of a godfather, while a gun is even depicted on the collar of the bottle, under the wording "Stop!".
Italian Sounding has exceeded 120 billion euros, and costs Italy three hundred thousand jobs
But there is also the “Il Padrino” Syrah wine produced in the Santa Maria Valley California by Paul Late “For those who dare to feel”. It is then possible to buy the cookbook “The mafia cookbook” or buy candies on the www.candymafia.com portal.
To the very serious damage to the image of Mafia Marketing - Coldiretti observes with concern - the insult of the economic exploitation of Made in Italy is added in a situation in which the counterfeiting and falsification of Italian food products in the agri-food sector alone has now exceeded 120 billion euros, almost double the exports, and that it costs Italy, according to an analysis by the Organization, three hundred thousand jobs.
There are not only the products but also the restaurants that refer to the mafia, over 300 in the world
But it's not just the products that damage Italy's good name. They get there even the restaurateurs abroad, and unfortunately it must be said that they are not infrequently Italian, thus trying to attract the attention of the public
They are almost three hundred restaurants in the world that refer to the name of the mafia, from "Kiss Hands" a "Cosa Nostra" up to the unlikely Felafel Mafia, Nasi goreng Mafia and Karaoke Bar Mafia This is what emerges from an analysis by Coldiretti conducted on the database of the Tripadvisor website.
In Spain it is possible to eat at "El padrino", from "La dolce vita del Padrino" and from "Baciamo le mani" - explains Coldiretti -, and also in the battered Ukraine there is a chain of "Mafia" clubs where they serve pizza and other international cuisine and even a “Karaoke bar mafia”. The reference to Cosa nostra is, in fact, absolutely transversal to cultures and dishes from all over the world and if in the United States we find the establishments "Felafel mafia" and "Sushi mafia", in Germany there are “Burger mafia”, in Indonesia “Nasi goreng mafia”, in Egypt “Mafia pizza” and in Brazil “Al Capone Pizza di Mafia”. In Austria there is also the “Mafiosi” restaurant, in Finland you eat at “Don Corleone” and in France at “Cosa nostra”. And there is no shortage of digression on the subject, if it is true that in Russia there is a restaurant called "Camorra".
Spain leads the countries with mafia-inspired restaurants, they are 63
In ranking of the countries with the most places inspired by "mafia sounding" is Spain with 63 restaurants, thanks above all to the “La Mafia se sienta a la mesa” chain widespread throughout the country that makes customers eat under the murals of the bloodiest gangsters from Vito Cascio Ferro to Lucky Luciano, up to Al Capone, while Ukraine is in second place (38 restaurants, bars and pizzerias) ahead of Brazil (28). Followed by Indonesia (23), Russia (19), India (16), Japan (15), Poland (11), USA (8), Portugal and Australia who close the top ten with equal merit with 5 cases. But activities that recall Cosa Nostra are now found everywhere, from Germany to Thailand, from Mexico to South Korea, from Panama to Moldova, up to Jordan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Vietnam and Canada, just to name a few.
In the case of the Spanish restaurant chain "La mafia se sienta a la mesa" the European Union, at the request of Italy, has even canceled the granting of the trademark as contrary to public order and morality, even if the premises they are still open all over Spain.
“The European Union – says the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini. – must stop the commercial use of infamous brands that exploit stereotypes linked to mafia organizations and risk penalizing the image of the entire Italian agri-food sector at a time when exports have reached an all-time record, contributing to the recovery of the country system”.
