New York City (PRWEB) Feb. 18, 2014 ? The Minister of Agriculture for the Region of Puglia, Fabrizio Nardoni, is defending the superior quality of Italian extra-virgin olive oil against counterfeit oil produced in the U.S.
“We are the folks who guarantee quality and too often get damaged from food fraud,??? Nardoni said, replying to The New York Times article, “Extra Virgin Suicide,??? published on Jan. 25. “Americans should learn from us how to make healthy and delicious products.???
“As one of the major extra-virgin olive oil producing regions, Pugliese growers are the victims of the dangerous trend of Italian-sounding products made in U.S. that have been damaging our economic and entrepreneurial system as these products completely bypasses the appropriate inspections that the European Union members are subject to,??? Nardoni said.
Together with the Movimento Turismo del Vino Puglia, a consortium of wine producers from the homonymous region, Nardoni was in New York City to promote and support the large variety of wines and olive oils from Puglia at the recent “Raise a Glass to Puglia??? event.
“All Americans who have been appreciating the wines, olive oils and excellent products from Puglia have been given an instrumental lesson on food quality. They should understand that they are part of a country of counterfeit and unhealthy foods,??? Nardoni continued.
The Regional Minister explains that due to the series of cartoons published by the newspaper, The New York Times readers around the world now believe that the olive oil produced in Italy is all counterfeit. Nardoni points the finger at the U.S. instead, contending, “They should explain why their legislators have not taken action against those olive oils produced in California that claim to be Italian. Those products passed off as Italian lead American consumers who have read the The New York Times article to believe that they are the result of a distorted production system (the Italian system), which is ironic since the Italians actually represent excellent and reputable producers with great expertise.???
