Over 42 tons of tomato sauce produced in Bulgaria have been seized in the port of Brindisi, reports “24 Chasa”.
This happened after local authorities found that the production had been prepared for sale as an Italian product.
The discovery was made during a joint operation by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, the Brindisi Financial Police and inspectors from Puglia and Basilicata. They stopped two trucks carrying a tomato mixture intended for two Italian companies for inspection. Although the accompanying documents indicated the Bulgarian origin of the product, investigators found that labels with the inscription “Country of origin – Italy” had already been placed on the packages.
The authorities believe that this was a clear intention to integrate the product into the national production chain as a raw material of Italian origin. In this way, tomato sauce – a key ingredient in pizzas and a number of traditional Italian dishes – would have been presented as an emblematic product of Italy, although it was actually made from Bulgarian tomatoes.
The legal representatives of the two companies to which the shipment was directed have been officially accused of false declaration of origin. According to an initial assessment, the possible fraud would have brought hundreds of thousands of euros in illegal profit, while at the same time misleading traders and consumers who rely on the “Made in Italy” designation as a guarantee of quality and origin. The Italian authorities stressed that such a practice threatens both the economic stability of the sector and confidence in the national food industry.
In addition to the economic damage, the institutions also note the potential risk to public health, since the possibility cannot be ruled out that the detained products contain substances or contaminants prohibited by European regulations.
This further aggravates the case, calling into question the safety of the raw material, which was on the verge of being released into the market as an “Italian” tomato sauce.
The investigation is ongoing to identify all participants in the scheme and possible other supplies that could be linked to similar unregulated practices.
The media point out that the case highlights how easily one of the symbols of Italian cuisine – tomato sauce, which is the basis of traditional pizza, could turn out to be produced not in Italy, but from Bulgarian raw material labeled as a high-class Italian product.
Illustrative Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/pile-of-red-tomatoes-533280/
