The false grain is served. There is the tricolor prominently displayed, the mustachioed man named Vittorio, but the cheese is made abroad. What’s more, he resembles one of the most famous ambassadors of ‘Made in Italy’. It happens at LD-MD, and not even abroad, but on the soil of the Belpaese.
Here are images of a horrible imitation Grana Padano PDO, marketed by the discount chain LD-MD under the brand name ‘Gran di Vittorio’. A Big Mess we would say, and let’s see why.
The product in question is very much and indeed too similar-in name and appearance, including the way it is packaged-to real Grana Padano. With three ‘only’ differences, if you can call them that.
The false grain in three details
– the first, almost negligible in the eyes of consumers, is the absence of the final ‘a’ to the word ‘Grana’;
– the second difference, for discerning consumers, is the absence of the CTM marking the PDO;
– ‘dulcis in fundo’, the bitter revelation on the back label. Despite the green white and red colors, mustache and name triumphing on the front, it is a ‘hard cheese’ made in Hungary and ‘aged in Italy.’ Moreover, packaged in the heart of ‘Padania,’ in the province of Reggio Emilia (!).
To the authorities in charge of official public controls, the judiciary and the Antitrust Authority any shrewder assessment and qualification of the case, from our humble point of view totally unacceptable! And to consumers a call to keep their eyes wide open.
(Dario Dongo)
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
