Parmigiano Reggiano wins vs Campbell’s

After a long lawsuit, the American soup giant Campbell's - which produces a turnover of 8 billion a year - has announced that it accepts the Consortium's requests to remove all references to Parmigiano Reggiano from the labels of its products. On the "Prego" line of sauces were in fact visible photos of portions of cheese with the well-known dots that are imprinted at the origin on every form of Parmigiano Reggiano, while the Campbell's sauces carry on the label the ingredient "parmesan" that has nothing to do with the original Italian PDO product. For this reason, the Consortium - with the support of the law firm Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLP - opposed and requested the U.S. canning industry to remove the images as misleading to buyers. 

 

We remind you that Parmigiano Reggiano is a PDO and, as such, can only be produced in a typical area: in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, part of Bologna and Mantua and that the use of the trademark of origin (the famous dots bearing the name: "Parmigiano Reggiano") can only refer to the authentic Italian product.

 

This is not the first battle that the Consortium faces against multinationals with almost unlimited economic resources. A few months ago the appeal was filed against the Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC which is trying to obtain the registration of 'KRAFT PARMESAN CHEESE' as an official trademark in New Zealand, where the Consortium has been registering the Parmigiano Reggiano trademark for over 20 years. And there are other cases against Kraft in several countries: Australia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Thailand, Ecuador.

 

 "The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium is attentive and ready to fight any fraud - pointed out President Nicola Bertinelli - this success fuels our confidence in the battle for the defense of 'parmesan' that we have been conducting for decades, first in Europe and now in the world. If a multinational company like Campbell uses images of Parmigiano Reggiano on a product containing parmesan, this is clear proof that for Campbell's consumers the name 'parmesan' is not generic, and is linked to Dop Parmigiano Reggiano".