The wrath of the Italian authorities was caused by foreign companies producing food and drinks with a mafia theme, from mafia pasta to tomato sauce "Cosa Nostra"
Peanuts "Chile Mafia" and liquor "Don Corleone" ... Italy declared war on a host of food and drinks that praise or vulgarize its notorious organized crime groups.
Eating a plate of Al Capone pasta mixed with tomato sauce “Wicked Cosa Nostra” may seem appealing to a foreigner. However, for most Italians this dish will leave an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth, experts of the largest Italian agricultural organization Coldiretti are sure of this.
Coldiretti appealed to foreign governments and the EU leadership to eradicate the so-called "horror market", which includes pasta, pizza and other pro-Italian products sold using mafia themes.
The list of such goods (and not only) is wide: from pasta under the simple name "Mafia" to the Bulgarian cafe "Maffiozo" and the recipe book "Mafia Cookbook".
The same "mafia" products are sold everywhere, in the UK and the USA, Spain and Taiwan. The German company produces a whole line of spicy sauces and spices under a rather boring name “The shootout of the Palermo Mafia” (“Palermo Mafia Shooting”)while the “Chilli Mafia Naga Nuts” nuts are advertised as “a really hot hit any time of the day.”
Roberto Moncalvo, President of Coldiretti, expressed his opinion that using the mafia as a marketing ploy creates a negative image of Italy in the international arena. Mafia-themed foodstuffs express the “impermissible insult” of a country where mafia killers still remain the harsh truth of life.
“Our research revealed a real horror market. The mafia is the scourge of our society, and they make money on it,” said Senior Moncalvo. "Such unacceptable commercial practices damage the image of Italy abroad. And, in addition, deeply injures many Italians who have already become and, unfortunately, continue to be victims of organized crime."
Last month, Italian politicians expressed their dissatisfaction with the Spanish restaurant chain La Mafia, inspired by mafia fashion and offering their visitors pizza and pasta surrounded by posters with scenes from The Godfather.
Giuseppe Lumia, senator of the Central Left Democratic Party and member of the parliamentary commission against the mafia, said: "The use of the word" mafia "in commercial brands is wretched and unacceptable. This is an insult to all people who sacrificed their lives to protect law and order." .
According to Coldiretti, large mafia groups such as Camorra in Naples, Cosa Nostra in Sicily and Ndrangheta in Calabria invested huge sums in food products and various restaurants. At the same time, a Coldiretti study showed that, given the country's youth unemployment rate of 42%, 6 out of 10 Italians are ready to work in companies funded by the mafia. The difficult economic situation does not lead to scruples in choosing an employer.
