The references to Parmigiano Reggiano must be removed from the labels of the soups by the American giant’s Campbell’s. After a long dispute with the US group, who generates a turnover of 8 billion a year, it was possible to get rid of the images showing the renowned little dots impressed on the portions of cheese – typical of Parmigiano Reggiano -, printed on the “Prego” sauce cans. There is no real Parmigiano among the ingredients of the Campbell’s sauces, only anonymous “Parmesan” and for this reason the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium asked the US industry to remove the images, since they are considered misleading for buyers.
A positive sign in this difficult phase for Italian exports, due to the effects of the pandemic that has raised invisible walls. The problem of Italian Sounding is certainly not new, but Italian products have a particular difficulty in reaching the shelves across the border, leaving increasingly wide openings for fake Italian products.
According to Coldiretti data, this market steals 100 billion a year from Italy. But this time the Consortium of Parmigiano Reggiano has not given up and, indeed, the battle in favor of Vero Parmigiano Reggiano continues in the name of all the member companies and of course consumers/admirers.
It is a battle that also has to do with public health. In the post-coronavirus future, people’s attention will be increasingly directed towards the impact that food has on collective health. The binomial “quality of food and health” finally begins to penetrate the social fabric. The risk, as always, is connected to prevention. There can be no effective preventive work, without a sort of food intelligence developing worldwide: the awareness that the protection of the Italian food and wine heritage, universally recognized as an example of quality and healthiness, considerably affects the well-being and health of the Italian consumer as a short, medium and long term foreign company.
ITA0039 | 100% Italian taste Cerification is the tool with which ASACERT, together with Coldiretti, FAI, the support of ANRA and IFSE, traces the path towards the defense, promotion and enhancement of true Italian spirit in the world, in defense of the entire agri-food sector, starting from Italian catering abroad.
The point is that the admirers of our products are almost never able to recognize them: they do not always manage to distinguish a real Italian product from an Italian Sounding one. Although foreign consumers love Italian excellence, it has been estimated that they know only 5% of a much richer basket.
This time the true Italian quality product has won. Long live Made in Italy!