Italian food brand accused of ‘tomato fraud’

 Italian food brand accused of ‘tomato fraud’

Niv Bavarsky

These tomatoes are catching so much heat, they’re at risk of becoming perfectly blistered. A lawsuit filed in California this week accuses food manufacturer Cento Fine Foods of committing “tomato fraud” by deceiving customers about the legitimacy of its canned San Marzano tomatoes. Like authentic Champagne and Parmesan cheese, official San Marzano tomatoes can only come from one specific region in Italy. The premium fruits are ideal for saucemaking, but horrible for punishing a bombing comedian, because they have a thicker tomato wall, fewer seeds, and lower acidity than your run-of-the-mill produce. Sales of this specific tomato are regulated by Il Consorzio di Tutela del Pomodoro San Marzano DOP, but Cento uses a third-party agency called Agri-Cert: Cento said it stopped working with the official Italian group to certify its tomatoes a decade ago over labeling rules. The lawsuit claims that Cento was removed by the group for counterfeit labeling, and that the “certified” label on the company’s cans and website trick customers into thinking the tomatoes have the more rigorous DOP certification. Cento called the allegations meritless. The company released a statement saying that it defeated a similar lawsuit lobbed against it in 2019 and would do so again.