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Italy attacks Tesco's lasagne sandwich and Californian 'Chianti' as cheap imitations
Tesco's lasagne sandwich, Californian "Chianti" and prosciutto ham from Bulgaria have been attacked by food authorities in Italy, who claim the fake Italian-sounding products are costing the country billions of pounds each year in lost revenue.
By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 6:50AM BST 20 Sep 2010
The sandwich consists of a filling of minced beef, pasta sheets and a creamy sauce, enclosed between two thick slices of white bread
Italian-sounding food that has nothing to do with Italy is worth €26 billion in the European Union alone - twice the value of the nation's genuine food exports - according to the Italian food producers' association, Federalimentare. Among the immitation products are polenta from Montenegro, German "salami", Swedish fontina cheese, and "parmesan" from Romania.
Federalimentare reserved particular disdain for the lasagne sandwich, launched by the British supermarket in July, saying that it was not worthy of being associated with the classic baked pasta dish. The calorie-laden sandwich, which costs £2.50, consists of a filling of minced beef, pasta sheets and a creamy sauce, enclosed between two thick slices of white bread.
Food manufacturers typically use Italian words, illustrations and the red, white and green of the Italian flag in an apparent suggestion that their products are genuinely Italian, when in fact they can be made in Dagenham or Detroit. The Italian farmers' association, Coldiretti, estimates that in North America, Australia and New Zealand only around two per cent of Italian-sounding produce in fact originates in Italy.
Italy sets great store by its "Made in Italy" brand, but believes food "piracy" costs the country around €60 billion in lost sales worldwide each year. Some foreign-produced food purporting to be Italian could even be dangerous, the association warned, pointing to the recent case of a batch of German-made mozzarella cheese which had to be recalled after it was found to turn blue as soon as it was opened. It is not just gullible foreigners who are being duped by these fake products - a growing number of Italians are buying cheap, foreign-made pasta, polenta, cheese and olive oil.
