Police in Parma have confiscated 2,500 counterfeit monodose bottles of one of Italys most celebrated gastronomic products, the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, distributed among local restaurants and food shops. The labels contained all the information required to guarantee the product, including its IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) status, awarded by the EU in July 2009 after 15 years of pressure from Italian producers. It is estimated that 25% of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is not the real thing.
The problem of safeguarding Italys vast gastronomic heritage has become a top priority with the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Giancarlo Galan. Balsamic Vinegar is particularly vulnerable as customers do not know what they are buying until they open the bottle and find a dark, low quality liquid instead of the real product. The enormous difference in prices of genuine products also leads to confusion. The most expensive are produced with traditional methods, using only certain varieties of grapes and allowing the must to age for at least 12 years (25 years for the top quality, priced at 70-80 for 100 millimeters) in special wooden casks. Most consumers are happy to settle for the more reasonably priced industrial version, available at 1.5-2 for a half-litre bottle.
