| Abstract: |
Cases of fraud related to balsamic vinegar production are a growing concern. The seizure of €15m worth of must, wine products and commercial documentation in Italy earlier this month as part of the country’s Operation Global Wine fraud investigation has focused minds on the huge global demand for balsamic vinegar and product authenticity. Balsamic vinegar has the largest share of global vinegar sales followed by red wine vinegar, cider vinegar and white vinegar, IMARC Group’s report, Vinegar Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2018-2023, shows. Italy’s Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies has highlighted the allegedly fraudulent use of “table”, or low-grade, grapes intercepted with fake authenticity documents. Must, transformed from table grapes, was ultimately destined for plants in Emilia, in the North of the country, for use in balsamic brands whose managers, the ministry stressed, were not implicated in the investigation. |
