The secret ingredient in the winning pizza dough is, indeed, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI, which goes beautfully with all the other ingredients: leek velouté, rice Stracchino cheese, yellow and red Piennolo tomatoes, freshly grated courgettes, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI glaze and basil. De Silvestri also won first prize in the gluten-free section – with the same recipe – second place in the triatholon of three different cooking specialties, third place in the peel-cooked section, and the victory in the team section “Mani in pasta” (“hands in the dough”), with the help of – among others – 2015 winner of the same award Gianni di Lella, who also created an original pizza that boasted the “black gold” as an intrinsic ingredient in the dough.

Press Office of the Consorzio di Tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP

Marte Comunicazione snc di Marzia Morganti Tempestini & C.

 Tel +39 335 6130800 Email marzia.morganti@gmail.com www.martecomunicazione.com

Part of the opening conference entitled “Agropiracy: when Italy can defend itself”, was devoted to the case history of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, in the wake of recent judgements issued by German magistrates to protect this original product. Telling the story was Consortium Director Federico Desimoni: “These moments of reflection and discussion are important because they help us set aside commonplaces, easy complaints, and instead focus objectively on the strong and weak points of the situation at hand. In this particular area, we must go beyond simply continuing to acknowledge the serious problem of counterfeit, imitations, the evocation of Italian products and the notorious “Italian-sounding” branding, and recognise that within the European Community things are changing and we can already see concrete signs of a cultural shift: the underhand behaviour of those wishing to commit fraud, deceive, imitate or potentially remain ambiguous, is being increasingly stigmatised and condemned by official bodies, European and national magistrates first and foremost, but not only these. We must emphasise with satisfaction that we already have highly useful and efficient tools for defending our products, the rights of consumers and the world of production. What we need are resources that enable everyone to follow suit. This is where our experience comes in, which we willingly share to help other industries follow in our footsteps.” Mr Desimoni went on to cite the reasons for the German ruling which has paved the way for Community-wide protection. “Thanks to the 30 pages of reasons for the Consortium’s case, now Balsamic Vinegar of Modena can apply the principle of the ruling in all EU countries. And every precedent, such as ours, has a protective impact on other products.”

The data published on the MiPAAF (Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies) website regarding the activities of its anti-fraud organisation – the Ispettorato Centrale Repressione Frodi (ICQRF) – in 2015 reconfirm the authorities’ ongoing commitment to get rid of malpractices in the agri-food industry. 36,864 checks undertaken, 53,490 products and 24,003 producers verified, 4,052 sanctions and 2,786 injunctions raised, 255 criminal records filed, 676 cases of goods seized totaling an overall value of 68 million euro for around 77,000 tonnes of products (information source: Report ICQRF 2015). A large proportion of agri-food fraud in concentrated on the internet (in 2015 alone, ICQRF made 561 cases against usurpation and evocation) and MiPAAF is the only authority to have agreements with eBay and Alibaba to remove false PDO and PGI claims from their online shops. One of the most targeted products is Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, with illegal marketing on Alibaba being the most detected by the Aliprotect system: rice vinegar, sold as “Baslsamic vinegar Modena” and only later renamed with the correct commercial denomination.

This appraisal of the risks and opportunities in the international markets and the battle against “Italian Sounding” branding to conquer new market quotas, also involved Giancarlo Caselli, magistrate and now president of the Observatory on Criminality in Agriculture and the Agri-food System along with Colomba Mongiello, Vice President of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into commercial counterfeit and piracy, who was invited to lead the debate.

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena remains a main attraction at Vinitaly, with its sensory, “theatrical” tasting session in collaboration with the Associazione Koiné – sustainable theatre – at the stand of Consorzio di Tutela del Lambrusco di Modena in the Emilia Romagna section.

Ufficio Stampa Marte Comunicazione snc di Marzia Morganti Tempestini & C. Tel 335 6130800 Email marzia.morganti@gmail.com www.martecomunicazione.com

It is a tradition that has attracted many attempts at imitation, by virtue of the unique quality of this iconic Italian-made food product. Over the course of the last year, it has made major progress in the field of protection; a number of episodes of unfair conduct by companies taking advantage of the “Italian-sounding” effect to encourage consumers to buy counterfeit products have now been acknowledged as unlawful. Two important judgments in this respect were passed in Germany, by the Courts of Cologne and Mannheim, setting a historic precedent for protection in the EC marketplace.

“The effects on the European market created by the positive outcome of the lawsuits which concluded in 2015,” explained the General Manager of the Consortium for the Protection of PGI Aceto Balsamico di Modena, Federico Desimoni, “will above all be felt in the new year which has just started, and will see major changes on this front. Indeed the new situation which has been created might well see a number of products which imitate and evoke Aceto Balsamico di Modena being eliminated from the market. This would open up new marketing possibilities, and as a result other sales potential as well. This will promote accurate perception of our product, allowing us to convey new messages that can only help the culture of PGI Aceto Balsamico di Modena to grow.”

In the light of these facts, the MD of the PGI Aceto Balsamico di Modena Protection Consortium also took the opportunity to examine the international role of Italy’s most exported food product: “We feel there are good prospects both in terms of quality and quantity: our product is increasingly being used worldwide, and the demand is for increasing quality. We also expect to see an increase in the already very high export rate in 2016. In 2015 it was already in excess of 90% of production, totalling 95 million litres, for an estimated turnover of 700 million Euro in consumption. This entitles us to drink a positive and proactive toast to the new year.”

Press Office Marte Comunicazione snc di Marzia Morganti Tempestini & C. Tel 335 6130800 Email marzia.morganti@gmail.com www.martecomunicazione.com

From this information one can see this ruling, which comes in the wake of other important cases such as the Parmesan one, representing a further confirmation of European Community legislation providing wide-ranging protection for PDO and PDI products, and in this specific case Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, against evocation.  This is also the opinion of the Director of the Protection Consortium, Federico Desimoni: “The opportunity of protecting Balsamic Vinegar of Modena against products generically named as “balsamic” is of fundamental importance for our sector and greatly extends the activities of vigilance and protection that we will be able to carry out throughout Europe, starting in Italy, where there are still a great number of irregularities. It is good news, therefore, for the producers, but above all for the consumers, and an important reference for other courts and all relevant authorities.  This is just the first step in a protection strategy that will be carried on with conviction on several fronts, both in and outside the courts“.

There is still a lot of work to do, but this first ruling represents a precedent of great importance, as shown by the enthusiasm of the Consortium President, Dr Stefano Berni: “It’s an extraordinarily important ruling and it will be a landmark in the history of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, as it confirms the effectiveness of the work done by the Protection Consortium which, on starting its activities a little over a year ago, had as its main objective that of implementing the protection of the “Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI” designation.  This judgment, following as it does the one about the exclusivity of the name Grana, that can now be associated only with the term “Padano”, and the one about the term Parmesan, that can be used only to identify Parmigiano Reggiano, is a third ruling with a fundamental importance for the protection of PDO and PGI certified products in the whole sector. After winning the battle about the term Grana in the European Court of Justice, I am personally very pleased that there has been a luminous victory about the term Balsamic. I wish to thank the Consortium Board of Directors, the Director  Desimoni, the Attorney for the Consortium, Mr. Bocedi, Minister Martina and his Head of Department, Dr Bianchi, for taking part in the complicated process that has led to this splendid result. Today is the start of a new stage of greater certainty and better guarantees for all the serious producers of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI“.

There are many reasons for enthusiasm and optimism about this landmark ruling, and we look forward to finding out more about this issue from a technical and legal point of view and to highlighting further significant aspects of common interest.

Ufficio Stampa Marte Comunicazione snc di Marzia Morganti Tempestini & C. Tel 335 6130800 Email marzia.morganti@gmail.com www.martecomunicazione.com

A return to origins – Di Lella attended some of Antonino Esposito’s courses, which taught him many tricks of the trade and how to translate them into innovative and new pizzas while always striving for improvement – which has all the flavour of a tribute to the Modena product par excellence. In addition to the vast repertoire of rich and imaginative pizzas which have won him prestigious competition results, there will also be a few original ones. Among the most intriguing and appealing ones are a white pizza prepared with a dough with Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI and topped with Provola cheese, zucchini flowers and Zibello pancetta, a delicious white pizza topped with Prosciutto Crudo di Modena, arugula, Parmigiano flakes and a drizzle of Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI, and the exclusive and original “made in Di Lella” creation – which has won him important awards – called Panpera, featuring a crust filled with ricotta, and in the middle a bed of pancetta, pears, cinnamon, smoked Provola cheese and drops of vinegar. There will also be surprises, as the two super pizza makers promise to unleash their imagination in order to best interpret the versatility of Aceto Balsamico di Modena PGI.

Ufficio Stampa Marte Comunicazione snc di Marzia Morganti Tempestini & C. Tel 335 6130800 Email marzia.morganti@gmail.com www.martecomunicazione.com

This is a “recognition” that can add further value to a production so closely linked to its geographical area, and which has an annual production turnover of more than 450 million euros and a consumption turnover of almost 700 million. A “love story” with the area that has played and continues to play an essential role in building the indisputable fame that black gold enjoys in almost 120 countries worldwide, where it exports over 90% of its annual production of more than 90 million litres. This great fame has, however, led to a significant incidence of counterfeiting or evocation, thus damaging the producers and confusing consumers. The activities of the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI, in conjunction with policies implemented by the Ministry of Agricultural Policies to combat agropiracy, including online cases of it – represents an important step forward in fighting illegality. The effectiveness of these interventions is confirmed by the agri-food exports Istat data for the first four months of 2015. Exports for the whole agri-food sector amounted to almost 12 billion euros in 4 months, an increase of 18% over 2014: a measure of the strength of agri-food Made in Italy which shows the ability to seize opportunities everywhere – in particular in non-European markets – but also the Government’s commitment to supporting agri-food companies with a clear internationalization plan.

Ufficio Stampa Marte Comunicazione snc di Marzia Morganti Tempestini & C. Tel 335 6130800 Email marzia.morganti@gmail.com www.martecomunicazione.com