New legal proctection to defend real Italian food. The Court of Mannheim (Germany) has officially ruled on the civil dispute between the Consortium of balsamic vinegar of Modena Pgi and a German company, which bans the free use of the term “balsamic” in their product names. The subject of the proceedings was, in fact, whether it is possible or not to use the term “balsamic” for products other than thosed certified balsamic vinegars of Modena Pdo and IGP. From the first information on the ruling, it can be understood that, in the wake of other important cases like that of Parmesan, the ruling gives further confirmation of the pan European protection of Pdo and Pgi products, and in this specific case to protect the balsamic vinegar of Modena, from evocation. “The ability to protect the balsamic vinegar of Modena from products that are generally referred to as balsamic – confirms Federico Desimoni, general manager of the protection consortium – in our industry is essential and greatly broadens the horizon of supervision and protection in Europe, starting from Italy where there are still numerous irregularities. Good news, then, for producers and consumers alike and an important example for other courts and to all relevant authorities, because this is only the first step in a strategy of protection that will now continue on many procedural and non fronts”. There is still a lot of work to be done but this initial ruling sets a precedent of great importance.
