Producers outraged by faux-Italian foods
- Thread starter kleenex
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Geez, it took them long enough to wake up!
It's a combination of big companies who want to capitalize on the popularity of Italian foods and small producers, often from Italy that want to bring their favorites to the USA.
As with all things, the consumer must shop smart or be fooled. Have you seen the word "chocolaty" on a product label as in "delicoius chocolaty coating"? That means they cannot legally use the word chocolate.
Learn to read ingredients labels. The ingredients are listed in order of qualtity. If the first ingredient on the list is water or salt or anything other than the main ingredient in a food, you're getting screwed!
It's a combination of big companies who want to capitalize on the popularity of Italian foods and small producers, often from Italy that want to bring their favorites to the USA.
As with all things, the consumer must shop smart or be fooled. Have you seen the word "chocolaty" on a product label as in "delicoius chocolaty coating"? That means they cannot legally use the word chocolate.
Learn to read ingredients labels. The ingredients are listed in order of qualtity. If the first ingredient on the list is water or salt or anything other than the main ingredient in a food, you're getting screwed!
boufa06
Executive Chef
kleenex, thanks very much for posting this. As one who has often come out to say that the claim that Italian products are irreplacable when cooking an Italian dish is pure marketing hype, I am very glad to see up-to-date supporting evidence. To be sure, I have read many such stories from various trustworthy sources over time. The problem is that I have not recorded the articles themselves, source, date etc. Therefore, if anyone were to challenge any relevant post of mine, I would be hard-pressed to present such concrete evidence on the spot. This is why I feel relieved to a great extent that there is independent evidence presented in this forum in support of past arguments of mine. I do think that educating ourselves on such issues will go a long way towards making more informed decisions before reaching for one item or another from supermarket shelves.
shpj4
Head Chef
I read the news clip and no wonder Producers are outrages by faux-Italian Foods.
They bring their foods here and the combination of large companies want to make a profit.
They bring their foods here and the combination of large companies want to make a profit.
Sometimes consumers won't be able to tell. Like in the case of truffles. Due to failure to cultivate truffles and having to settle with the traditional low-tech method of digging up the ever more scarce truffles using pigs or hounds, some unscrupulous suppliers in France have been importing truffles from China (where truffles are deemed fit only for pigs), repackaging them, adding a whopping margin, and passing them off as French truffles, and re-exported to the world...
ironchef
Executive Chef
Well, this is actually just par for the course when you look it. I mean, millions of consumers think that "real" Italian food comes from Buca di Beppo, Olive Garden, The Old Spaghetti Factory, etc. so this shouldn't really come as a suprise to anyone.
SizzlininIN
Master Chef
Hey I've been guilty of lumping Italian food in an Italian Food catagory. But through you guys and food programs I've been educated to know that there is not such catagory and that the food in Italy is made up of different regions in Italy.
I was also at fault in the past for buying EVOO and thinking all EVOO was produced in Italy........that was till one day I took a good look at the bottle an lo and behold the kind I was buying was an imposter. I know look at the bottles for where things were produced when purchasing.....in the case of ethnic items. I've also become more aware of what is in the things I buy by reading the labels and even rereading the labels of things I've bought faithfully for years.....just to be sure of any changes.
I was also at fault in the past for buying EVOO and thinking all EVOO was produced in Italy........that was till one day I took a good look at the bottle an lo and behold the kind I was buying was an imposter. I know look at the bottles for where things were produced when purchasing.....in the case of ethnic items. I've also become more aware of what is in the things I buy by reading the labels and even rereading the labels of things I've bought faithfully for years.....just to be sure of any changes.
boufa06
Executive Chef
Well done, Sizz!
