An Italian politician has demanded an immediate investigation after discovering a batch of Italian-style sauce was sold at a European Parliament supermarket.
During a visit to Parliament on Monday (17 November), Francesco Lollobrigida, Italy’s Minister of Agriculture, reportedly saw that a retailer on the first floor was stocking jars with tricolore branding and carrying Italian-sounding names.
One particular item appeared to cause the 53-year-old's grievance: a humble jar of carbonara sauce made with ‘Italiaanse pancetta’.
“Ignoring the pancetta in carbonara … all these products represent the worst of ‘Italian sounding’, he stated on social media.
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“It is unacceptable to see them on the shelves of the Parliament’s market. I have asked for investigations to be carried out immediately.”
Lollobrigida was also less than impressed by a tomato jar allegedly containing ‘oignons de Calabria’, or onions from Calabria, a region in southwest Italy.
The Guardian wrote that the own-label sauces Lollobrigida criticised were sold by the Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize and have an Italian flag on their packaging.
A report from Brussels confirmed the sauces were not claimed to be made in Italy but did include Italian ingredients.
Carlo Fidanza, head of the Italian delegation and coordinator in the agriculture committee, has backed the minister’s anger, claiming the Delhaize products may violate EU rules on food labelling.
In accordance with European Commission food laws, the general rule is that the indication of the country of origin or place of provenance is mandatory.
Failure to indicate this might mislead the consumer as to the true country of origin or place of provenance of the product.
If information accompanying the food or the label as a whole would otherwise imply that the food has a different country of origin or place of provenance, this would violate a clause written in Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.
“The improper use of symbols or references, in this case, references to ‘Italianness’ on products that do not come from Italy, may constitute a deceptive practice and therefore be prosecutable,” Fidanza said in a statement, as reported by Euractiv.
He added that the allegedly mislabelled carbonara sauce jars didn’t just cause an ‘identity battle’, but were a ‘matter of transparency and consumer protection’.
Fidanza confirmed that Parliament President Roberta Metsola had been asked to launch formal checks, according to the outlet.
FOODbible has contacted Delhaize for further comment.
The pasta sauce episode comes after Italy applied for Italian cuisine to be included in UNESCO’s intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The esteemed note aims to ensure better protection of important practices, knowledge, skills, representation, and living expressions across the world, including Haiti’s Joumou soup, reggae music of Jamaica, and beer culture in Belgium.
It’s expected that the nation will learn the outcome of their proposal in December.
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Ella Scott