Now there's a bit of a treat: Italy and Slovenia fight over vinegar

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Now there's a treat
Italy and Slovenia fight over vinegar

Italian vinegar manufacturers are outraged. They fear that Slovenian competition will soon be able to name their products "Aceto Balsamico". It's about a lot of money.

Italy's vinegar producers are entering a new round in their persistent battle for the quality and name of their products. Now they are fighting with the competition in Slovenia. The Consortium for the Protection of Aceto Balsamico di Modena feels under attack from the small neighboring country.

The background: The Slovenian government has submitted an application to the EU for a "national technical standard", argues the association from Modena in Emilia-Romagna. And they reject them. If the EU approves the application, it would stipulate that "all wine vinegars mixed with grape must" are allowed to call themselves "Aceto Balsamico" (balsamic vinegar), said Federico Desimoni, director of the association. "That contradicts European law," he complains. For the manufacturers, this also comes too close to their protected regional brand "from Modena". According to the association, there could be mix-ups. The vinegar dispute is not just about components and names, but about a billion dollar business, as the Italian newspaper "Il Sole 24 Ore" emphasized.

In Slovenia, the newspaper "Delo", meanwhile, gave the opinion of the local Ministry of Agriculture that the subject of vinegar is not regulated in the EU. Every country can issue regulations. Ljubljana submitted the draft of its plans to the EU Commission at the end of 2020. If Brussels takes a position, that will be taken into account, it said.

In Italy, Minister of Agriculture Stefano Patuanelli intervened. For Rome, the "protection of the cultural heritage" of its own manufacturers has high priority, he was quoted by the Ansa news agency. The government will do everything possible to defend the balsamic vinegar against attacks. An important deadline in the dispute with the EU expires on March 3. The manufacturer consortium has already disputed the term before several German courts and the European Court of Justice (ECJ).