An operation conducted by the Guardia di Finanza of Bari, in cooperation with ICQRF, has recently led to the seizure of 13,500 hectoliters of table grape juice sold as grape must from vitis vinifera. That is to say, a product suitable for the production of wine and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. According to the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena protection Consortium, it is not so much a matter of food counterfeiting, but of a real commercial fraud. An action which was aimed at the sale of a product of economic value decidedly inferior to that of grape must, the latter being suitable for the production of high-quality products such as Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.
Checks and penalties
The Consortium expresses great satisfaction with the police operation, which has been made in accordance to the pressing requests we have been making since last summer, when the worrying data of the underway harvesting campaign began to emerge says the Consortium President Mariangela Grosoli, who sees therefore the good functioning of public and private control systems carried out by authorities together with the protection and certification Consortia. The fraud did not directly concern our product, but its main ingredient: grape must. In fact, our disciplinary requires that the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is made exclusively with cooked or concentrated grape must, with grapes of seven precious vines. It excludes the possibility of using table grape juice or must coming from other vines says the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Consortium General Manager, Federico Desimoni.
Label security
In order to further reassure consumers, we remind that the most important things are awareness and attention during the act of purchase. Just pay attention to the name of the product that must be complete – in our case, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena – and then look for the yellow and blue round label that guarantees the certification as PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). A complex system of checks and certifications – the real guarantees for consumers – is constantly at work behind this label Desimoni states.