Italian tomato paste is beating back Chinese invaders with new labels proving that the 'pomodori' came from the Bel Paese.
"Thanks to the new labels, national products are no longer anonymous and inferior foreign clones can no longer trick consumers and damage our farmers," said farm organisation Coldiretti.
It said the labels, introduced last June, sparked a 40% slump in tomato-paste imports from China last year.
"The introduction of sourcing labels has saved countless jobs and upheld food quality and safety," Coldiretti said, noting that Chinese paste "has to travel thousands of miles and comes from a country with profoundly different hygiene standards from our own".
"The flood of Chinese tomato derivatives has been halted".
Before the labels were brought in, all-Italian tomato puree and paste were hit by an influx of Chinese tomatoes which were mixed with native products to gain a bogus 'Italian' label.
Coldiretti responded with a petition which garnered one million signatures from producers, consumers and environmental organisations as well as food experts and celebrity chefs.
The government acted to defend the nation's culinary glory and rules for the new labels were drawn up.
To publicise the labels, Coldiretti held a National Italian Tomato Day on which shoppers were shown how to read them to be sure they are getting the Real McCoy.
Italy is the world's second biggest grower of tomato products with a business of around five million tonnes compared to the USA's nine million.
China only began producing tomatoes in 1990 but is already the world's third biggest grower.
Italy has grown increasingly assertive in protecting its food specialities, winning European Union approval for a slew of regionally specific produce and pushing for international standards for Italian-style pizza as well as a seal of approval for restaurants that cook Italian as it should be cooked.
