Italy in uproar over fake Balsamic vinegar

Food enthusiasts and government officials are outraged in Italy as once again the country is embroiled in a fraudulent food scam surrounding one of their most famous products. Police recently swooped on 9,000 tonnes of crushed grapes in an investigation into the production of fake Balsamic vinegar that Stefano Vaccari, the head of the Central Repression of Fraud Inspectorate at the Ministry of Agriculture, describes as being an assault on the reputation of Italy.

For those who do not understand all the drama, millions of euros are at stake as well as a culture, and tradition built up over centuries is being threatened. Thus, Italians are taking the revelations very seriously indeed.

Legally, Balsamic vinegar can only be produced from the must (juice) of only seven different varietals of grape, including Sangiovese and Trebbiano. The fraudsters are creating and selling must from inferior grapes and then falsifying quality certification documents, involving dozens of wine suppliers based in the regions of Sicily, Puglia, Campania, Lazio and Emilia-Romagna, leading to inferior products in the supply chain.

Traditional balsamic vinegar is produced when the grape must is fermented then stored in wooden vats for a period of no less than 12 years and sometimes as much as 100, so falsifying the must can impact products and sales for decades to come. There is little wonder then that AIMO, a major balsamic producer, which unwittingly bought some of the fraudulent must, has said in a statement that it was ready “to take legal action against the serious damage they have caused to the company image”.

The latest investigations follow the 2015 crisis in which several top Italian olive oil producers were fined for allegedly passing off lower-quality products as “extra virgin”, something which is still impacting Italian oil sales today.

(Compiled by Warren Robertson)

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