Mamma Mia! 2,000 tonnes of fake Italian olive oil seized
Italy's tax police said Wednesday it had seized more than 2,000 tonnes of counterfeit olive oil in an operation it dubbed "Mamma mia."
The oil was marketed as top quality Italian produce, when it was actually made with cheaper olives imported from Greece and Spain, the Guardia di Finanza said in a statement.
Its officers conducted raids in the southern regions of Calabria and Apulia, and placed eight people under investigation for business fraud and 13 million euros' (14.21 million dollars') worth of false accounting.
Farmers' lobby Coldiretti welcomed the police action, and said food-related frauds were "multiplying." It lamented that foreign olive oil was often mixed with national produce to acquire "a semblance of Italianness," guaranteeing higher retail prices.
The association said draft proposals to drop European Union tariffs on 70,000 tonnes of Tunisian olive oil "could give further impetus to frauds." The measure intends to prop up the struggling economy of the north African country following last year's terrorist attacks.(dpa)
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