MuMu Mozzarella Tokyo Dop, o’ Campanian miracle

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On 8.3.19, the Consortium for the Protection of the




Mozzarella di Bufala


Bell

DOP reported the presence at ‘




Foodex




‘ – the most important agrifood fair in Japan – of a cow’s milk pasta filata branded ‘




MuMu Mozzarella Tokyo Dop’


. O’ Campanian miracle?



‘MuMu Mozzarella Tokyo DOP’


, the lament of the day after

Early reports from Japan on ‘Tokyo Dop,’ according to some rumors, had already appeared on the Authentico, the free app that helps consumers find out if products are really Made in Italy, by scanning the bar codes on the labels of each package on the shelf.

The Protection Consortium in turn, ‘aspart of its monitoring activities,’ identified in the Shibuya district of the Japanese capital city as the dairy from which the ‘MuMu’ brand cow’s milk pasta filate, which is also sold in some Japanese restaurants with an Italian sign, comes.

The use of the acronym PDO together with the term Mozzarella and references to buffalo as well as direct references to the name Mozzarella di Bufala Campana are clearly at odds with sector regulations,’ complains the director of the Consortium, Pier Maria Saccani. Who immediately turned to MiPAAFT, which in turn reported the matter to the European Commission. With all in all paltry expectations.

Well would have done, the Consortium of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO, to consider the dangers we have exposed On the betrayal of ‘Geographical Indication‘ (GIs) of Europe-and specifically of Italy’s, which accounts for about 85 percent of them-by the European institutions, in theJEFTA Agreement (‘Japan-EU Free Trade Agreement’).




It is therefore too late




to lament the lack of protection of our GIs (299 PDOs, PGIs and TSGs, 523 DOC and DOCG wines) in toxic treaties

which the Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker scrambled to negotiate and conclude until the last minute. (1) Instead, one must:

– Make efforts to prevent recidivism, (2)



– Demand that EU member states prevent the release of counterfeit PDOs and PGIs into the Internal Market.



,

– attribute digital identity to the Italian GIs. Spreading knowledge about authentic products to thwart counterfeits.



‘MuMu Mozzarella Tokyo Dop’


, o’ Campanian miracle

All it takes is a tour of the web to learn that the ‘MuMu Mozzarella Tokyo Dop, made in two Tokyo dairies, stems from a collaboration with Curatino Dairy.. A company from Bellizzi (Salerno), which is reported to be related to:



Caseificio Podere dei Leoni



of Nocera Inferiore (SA), associated with the Consortium for the Protection of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP,



Comat



, an industrial group




leader


In the production of machinery for the dairy industry. (3)

Combination, the website of the Podere dei Leoni Cheese Factory welcomes visitors with the same video found on the ‘MuMu Mozzarella Tokyo DOP’ portal. In turn, Comat-whose stated headquarters on the web coincides with that of Latteria del Curatino-makes and sells machinery, including compacts, to produce mozzarella all over the world. (4)

Without troubling diplomacies or scattering resources on onerous inter-continental missions, the buffalo producers could thus settle at home an affair that seems to be all bells and whistles. They would at least make an effort, in this Punchinello comedy, to sellMade in Italy curds from Authentico (!) Italian milk.

Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) The latest free trade and ‘investment protection’ agreement, between the EU and Singapore, was approved by a large majority by the European Parliament just on 13.2.19



(2) On 12.3.19, the Strasbourg Assembly rejected a motion for a resolution to resume EU-US negotiations on TTIP



(v.




https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/parliament-rejects-opening-trade-talks-with-trump/


). Instead, negotiations with Indonesia are proceeding,



(3) See article Secolo XIX, 5.12.16, on




http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/genova/2016/12/05/AShN0OQF-produce_mozzarella_italiana.shtml




(4) Following MuMu’s Customer Tour, from the restaurant ‘Pacioccone



– which in turn has an in-house mini dairy – we then come to the Quals Ristorante (Quorus) group, ‘




founded in 1993 to spread true Italian food culture.


‘ in the city of Joetsu (Niigata). And it is the same group, which owns six Japanese-Italian restaurants, that has been running ‘MuMu’ since June 2018.

Dario Dongo
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Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.