Browsing in a fine supermarket in the modern city-state of Singapore, I was suddenly shocked when I noticed a bottle of PriSecco, shameless copy of Prosecco, one of the most famous Italian sparkling wines in the world.
I could understand when these illegitimate activities come from emerging countries where the intellectual property is not yet well protected, but the fact that this bottle is produced in Germany is simply unacceptable.
I can’t help raising the voice: “Enough of this rubbish. Stop Italian sounding, protect Made in Italy!”
What is Italian sounding?
Italian sounding is, unfortunately, a very widespread phenomenon which confuses consumers creating images, colours and names of products very similar to their Italian equivalent. This is despite the fact that these imitations have no connection to the Italian originals they have been made to look and sound like.
There are many food products afflicted by Italian sounding, the most famous “fakes” are the parmesan (Parmesão in Brazil, Regianito in Argentina, Parmesello in Belgium), Mortadela, Barollo and many others.
With the increase in Italian food and wine export, there has been a worrying increase in counterfeit products in recent years.
The damages of the Italian sounding are obvious, in addition to the missed sales for Italian producers, there is a fundamental problem of protection of quality and image of Italy in the eyes and mouth of consumers.