Sarno. Once again, the Chinese tomato disguises itself as Italian. About 44 containers of tomato paste from China have arrived at the port of Salerno and are destined for a plant in Sarno for processing and subsequent packaging with the Made in Italy brand.
Coldiretti Campania is on a war footing and this morning organized a protest to denounce this unacceptable practice that harms both Italian producers and consumers.
"We are suffering the theft of value and identity", thunders Gennaro Masiello, national vice president of Coldiretti. "Chinese tomatoes don't have the same characteristics and safety standards as ours, and they're produced with exploited labor. We can't allow this unfair competition to destroy our businesses."
Forty motorcycles escorted the containers to the Sarno company, as a symbol of the protest. "We want these companies that process Chinese tomatoes to sign supply chain contracts with us that guarantee fairness and sustainability.", adds Masiello. "Otherwise, our companies will not be able to survive."
Ettore Bellelli, president of Coldiretti Campania, underlines the inadequacy of current regulations: "With a simple process, Chinese tomatoes become Italian. We need to change the rules of the customs code and include the origin of the raw material on the label to protect the true Made in Italy label."
"It's a double damage, to value and to image", complaint Salvatore Loffreda, director of Coldiretti Salerno. "Foreign consumers are deceived into believing they're buying an Italian product, while our San Marzano tomatoes, grown on just a few hectares, are imitated and sold all over the world."
Coldiretti calls for an end to this practice of counterfeiting Made in Italy products and for a review of the criteria for the final transformation in the Customs Code to ensure transparency and consumer protection.
Today's protest is just the beginning of a broader mobilization to defend the true Made in Italy and the future of Italian agriculture.
Gennarino Masiello, national vice president of Coldiretti: "Enough with the theft of the value and identity of Italian tomatoes! We need a change in the rules to protect Made in Italy products and fair competition."
Ettore Bellelli, President Coldiretti Campania"Transparent labeling: the origin of the raw material must be clearly stated on the label to protect consumers and the true Made in Italy label."
Salvatore Loffreda, director of Coldiretti Salerno: "Enough with deceiving consumers! Chinese tomatoes can't become Italian with a simple label. We defend the true Made in Italy label and the quality of our products."
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