GAIN Report - IT0000 Page 2 of 2

Required Report - Public distribution

Date: 11/29/2007

GAIN Report Number: IT7033

IT0000

Italy

Agricultural Situation

Counterfeit Italian Food Hurts Local Agriculture Claim Farmer Groups

2007

Approved by:

Geoffrey Wiggin

U.S.Embassy

Prepared by:

Dana Biasetti

Report Highlights: Italian farmer associations are calling upon the Italian Government and the EU to help stop the growing business in “counterfeit” Italian food products that supposedly cost Italian agriculture €60 billion each year in lost sales.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Annual Report

Rome [IT1]

[IT]


In a continuing story, Italian farmer associations are appealing to the Italian Government and the EU to help stop the sale of counterfeit Italian food products worldwide, a practice that they claim costs Italian agriculture €60 billion annually. According to CIA President Giuseppe Politi, this figure has grown 20 percent over the last year alone. Nearly 40 percent of all counterfeit Italian food products are sold within the EU.

The Italian farmer associations of CIA and Coldiretti are asking for “comprehensive European legislation to protect products from various countries. We need rules that take into account consumer demands in terms of transparency and greater information.”

Several Italian food products are already protected by existing EU regulations that lay down strict rules on the item's origin and the manufacturing process. In fact, only ham made in Parma can legally bear the label “Parma ham.” However, these regulations do not apply to items manufactured and sold outside of the EU, or to products sold within the EU that are not registered with the EU, such as some pasta sauces.

CIA President Politi recently met with the Italian Minister of Agriculture Paolo De Castro and asked for the Government’s support at the EU level in requesting that the European Commission step up efforts within the World Trade Organization for a global register of protected names. Politi is also asking that Italian farmers receive financial assistance in order to bring legal action against the manufacturers of counterfeit food, stricter rules and penalties against those who violate existing regulations, an EU task force to fight food fraud, and the introduction of a clear labeling system to ensure that consumers are aware of a product's origin.

Coldiretti President Sergio Marini is quoted as saying, “Non-Italian producers are falsifying the geographic identity of food to deliberately confuse the consumer. We want detailed labeling showing the exact origin of a food product to be obligatory throughout the world.”

Italy has been trying to curb and stop the sale of counterfeit food products for years. Parma's Parmigiano Reggiano consortium spearheaded the legal fight back in 2005 when it managed to stop an American cheese maker from using the Parmigiano tag on its’ grated cheese – reportedly the fourth time in ten years that a U.S. company had been forced to remove this type of label from its product. However in June of this year the European Court of Justice's advocate-general Jan Mazak recommended that no action be taken against a German manufacturer that was using the name Parmesan for its’ cheese product.

Unfortunately for their cause, the Italian farmer organizations are railing against a very mixed bag of supposed offenses ranging from nothing more than the use of Italian names and images on foreign products, to real copyright infringements. The irony is that most food processors in Italy (excluding winemakers and some geographic indications) rely on imported ingredients. Labeling the provenance of such ingredients would leave the Italian and foreign consumer completely confused as to what really is “Italian.” Further, the focus on creating worldwide registers of protected products through the WTO seems to ignore the truth that protection of Italian company and consortia marks under the US patent and trademark system has been effective. Lumping the serious in with the frivolous (such as complaining that foreigners use the word “pizza” for, well, pizza) to reach large numbers of supposed damage, doesn’t make the case made more credible, although the totals will probably be used to try to obtain EU moneys for the farmer organizations.

For previous related Post reporting please see GAIN IT7006 and IT7007.

UNCLASSIFIED USDA Foreign Agricultural Service