99% of Italian cheeses in the US are fake

More than €100 billion is the value of fake Italian food produced worldwide each year, according to figures announced by the Italian Farmers’ Federation.

99 percent of cheese sold as Italian in the United States is imitation. Photo: unplash

The Coldiretti Agricultural Society warns that food fraud is depriving Italy of jobs and income.

Food cheating affects Italians

She points out that there is a pervasive phenomenon known in English as Italian sounding, i.e. the sale of purported Italian articles that bear names or resemble Italian. As a result, farmers point out that two thirds of this food in the world is fake and has nothing to do with production in Italy.

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As it is calculated, if this phenomenon is combated, 300,000 jobs can be created in the country.

Who fakes Italian cheeses?

Among the leaders in the production of so-called Italian food are developing, but also rich countries – Australia, China and the USA. In the United States, according to a farming organization, 99 percent of cheese sold as Italian under the names mozzarella, ricotta, provolone al asiago, grana padano or gorgonzola is imitated there.

The famous Pecorino Romano hard cheese, produced across the ocean from milk other than sheep’s milk, was presented as a particularly glaring case. In some countries, you can find “Parmesan”, or fake Parmigiano-Reggiano, on store shelves.