Italians upset with China over cheese

Italians have said a cheese produced in Austria by a Chinese company is an  “Insult to Italian food excellence.”

Tommaso Razzolini, a councillor for the right-wing party, Brothers of Italy said he saw the packaging for the cheese from a photo online.

The packaging features images of a gondola and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, perhaps in an effort to convince consumers that the cheese is Italian.

The cheese is called European Mozzarella and is made in Austria by a Chinese company, Gaofu Foods.

Razzolini took to his Facebook page to say that he had reported “What appears, to all intents and purposes, to be yet another case of counterfeiting to the detriment of Italian agri-food excellence.

He appeared to be particularly upset about the “exploitation” of monuments “hailing from Vento,” as well as “the leaning tower of Pisa.

“Monuments”, he said that are “recognisable by anyone, used to sell a somewhat questionable mozzarella.

“This “imaginary” European Mozzarella is made up of several slices that have been produced, according to the packaging, In Austria by a company based in China.”

He went on to say “Combining the symbols of Veneto with products of dubious origin is a serious matter, and yet another insult to Italian agri-food excellence. This time it’s at the expense of a dairy product, what will be next? Enough is enough.”

Italy’s largest agricultural association, Coldiretti, said the value of the global market of cloned Italian foods rose to 120bn euros (£105bn) last year.

Cheeses are the most cloned products including Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. Parma ham and mortadella are also popular cloned Italian foods.