“The unacceptable snatching of the name ‘balsamic vinegar’ by Slovenia puts a billion euros of consumer value at risk and represents an attack on the entire Made in Italy system of quality,” said Coldiretti, a national food association and staunch defender of some of the country’s most cherished foodstuffs.
Rome’s move now means that Slovenia’s legal changes will be put on hold for three months and that Ljubljana has to reply to Italy’s concerns.
“The protection of Italy’s food and wine heritage is a priority for the government, so in this case too, we will do all we can to defend Balsamic Vinegar of Modena against these undue attacks,” Patuanelli told news agency ANSA last week.
According to a draft version of Italy’s submission, seen by POLITICO, Rome’s main beef with the Slovene document is that it allows vinegars containing fruit juices and musts to skip EU rules requiring them to specify these ingredients on their labels and instead be labelled as “balsamic vinegar.”
The Italian document also adds that the new draft rules create new vinegar standards, categories and definitions and outlines concerns that the changes would shield Slovenian vinegar producers from accusations of evoking or imitating a geographical indication when marketing products as “balsamic vinegar.”
But Italy’s fussing over the move has left Ljubljana puzzled, as it argues that the changes are technical in nature and that the specific rules governing its vinegar market, in place since 2004, have not changed.