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Police seize 1,000 hams with fake trademarks |
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Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
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Monday, 03 March 2008 |
 Italian police have confiscated about 1,000 hams because the meat was branded
with fake Parma prosciutto trademarks, authorities said last week.
According to USA Today, to earn the 'five-point crown' (pictured above) trademark, which is branded on the rind, Parma prosciuttos must come
from pigs of a certain weight, to assure the right amount of fat, and be aged in
rooms where air quality and even sunlight are carefully controlled, said
Fabrizio Raimondi, of the Parma-based consortium that safeguards use of the
trademark.
Umberto Santone, the Carabinieri commander of the anti-fraud unit in Padua,
northern Italy said
The prosciuttos aren't harmful to health, only a connoisseur would know they
weren't the real thing. These procedures weren't respected, and so the prosciutto didn't have the same
quality, the same aroma and the same sweetness. The falsely branded hams were seized in supermarkets,
smaller stores and warehouses throughout Italy over the past few months, the
police official said.
Those found guilty of selling the falsely branded ham risk steep fines and a
criminal record. Police said that if the hams are still edible after prosecutors wrap up their
probe they will be given to charity.
It would definitely be a shame to go to jail over some fake hams. Imagine the ridicule and harassment you'd get in prison when you tell people the reason you're in jail.
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