An Italian minister and several MEPs have unleashed a wave of criticism on a can of carbonara sold in a supermarket of the European Parliament and considered insufficiently Italian. Details are reported by AFP.
The manufacturing company has so far rejected all claims, calling them groundless. Cream in carbonara? With the Italian flag on the label? Judging by a series of photos, Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida made the first criticism on social media earlier this week. In his opinion, it is simply "unacceptable to see" these products in the European Parliament. Lollobrigida also added that he immediately launched an "investigation." But even more unrest was raised by the far-right elected representatives of Fratelli d'Italia, the party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
MEP Carlo Fidanza criticized the products "using the flag" of his country and "defiant names that have nothing to do with Italians," calling it part of a "fraudulent practice," also adding that he had sent an email on the matter to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.
The Fratelli d'Italia party does not consider this product sufficiently "made in Italy". Moreover, it does not correspond to the traditional recipe of carbonara, which is prepared without cream and without pancetta, but with dried pork skin (guanciale), pecorino cheese, eggs and pepper. However, the Belgian-Dutch agri-food group, which owns a supermarket located on the ground floor of the European Parliament in Brussels, did not refuse to prepare it.
"We are a little surprised by such a reaction and media attention to some pasta sauces," said the company's communications director.
"Both the name and the packaging fully comply with the current legislation," he stressed.
Meanwhile, the official inspection by the authorities "was indeed carried out at our Italian supplier."
"This inspection did not reveal any violations and confirmed the compliance of our products with the requirements," the employee added.
"Therefore, we see no reason to adapt these products and their packaging in any way. Thus, existing products remain available in our constituencies of the European Parliament and elsewhere," the company representative summed up.
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