Oh no!

Is it really real?
Originally uploaded by Krista 1366.

The Italian food police are back. First they were after pasta. Apparently how we Americans made pasta was not up to snuff. We did not use the correct flour, it has to be semolina. Punto Basta. Fine. Then it was pizza. I always thought pizza was an Italian / American invention, guess not. Not too long ago the food police were after us for that too, see here. Can you imagine trying to control every pizza parlor in the USA! Impossible.

Now the Italian food police are after us once again. This time for the misuse of Parmesan Cheese.

Pasta is seasoned with fake parmesan at least nine times out of ten in the States, Coldiretti (farmer's association) says commenting the alert launched by the Institute for Foreign trade (ICE) that denounced the forgery of the Italian foods abroad. The diffusion of Italian sounding curbs our exports of Parmigiano reggiano and Grana padano cheese in the US.

Ok. What we sometimes sprinkle on our pasta in the US is not anyway near what one could call "real" Parmigiano Reggiano. I agree. But the cheese is not marketed as such anyway. I think most sensible Americans know the difference between processed cheese and real cheese. If there is a desire for the superior cut of cheese there are a multitude of gourmet shops to provide it for them. These days even local supermarkets all over the USA sell imported cheese from all over the world. I have myself bought Parmigiano Reggiano, stamped to show it's authenticity, in Costco!

What I am getting at is this. Can one country, because it has such a glorious gastronomic history control what everyone else chooses to call what they eat? I suspect the "real" on the packaging refers to real cheese, not real parmigiano. Same as organic means natural food, not always naturally raised food. See my point. Different countries measure by different standards.

I see a slippery slope here.

Here is a thought. What if the Italian cheese producers chose to promote their product more in the States, or, gasp, lowered the cost on their exported cheese to compete with American products, they just might gain some market share they seek. Hmmm, but, that is an American idea. Friendly Competition. The Italian way is to scream to the authorities for more legislation to control the market. Oops, did I just say that? Naughty me!

Krista