The San Marzano tomato, celebrated as a protected Italian PDO variety, faces a critical challenge beyond its cultivation. This article examines the problem of counterfeiting associated with its famous name and looks at the trade practices that enable fake products to reach consumers.
The San Marzano tomato is an Italian PDO product from the Agro Sarnese-Nocerino area, named after the city of San Marzano sul Sarno in the region of Campania.
Its oblong shape and fleshy pulp make it ideal for use in the food processing industry.
It's particularly suitable for quick cooking due to its compactness, less water content, and fewer seeds, allowing a more lively flavor in tomato sauce.
Their seed arrived in Campania in 1770, gifted by the Viceroy of Peru to the King of Naples, and thrived in the fertile volcanic soil.
By the early 20th century, San Marzano had become the most important tomato for the Italian canning industry.
However, in the 1950s and 60s, widespread plant diseases such as tomato mosaic virus and Fusarium wilt devastated the original plants.
To preserve this culinary treasure, agricultural institutes and local farmers worked together to select new, disease-resistant strains like San Marzano 2 and San Marzano 3.
These modern cultivars are direct descendants of the original, carefully bred to maintain the signature sweet flavor, meaty texture, and balanced acidity that made San Marzano famous worldwide.
Historically, the San Marzano tomato, which attained Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in 1996, has been primarily cultivated for industrial processing and homemade preserves, such as traditional peeled tomatoes.
Unlike varieties meant for fresh salads, its intended use reflects its suitability for cooking, a role established well before cherry and cluster tomatoes became popular in the Italian market in the late 1980s.
The huge demand for this type of tomato in the United States cannot be served only by the real PDO San Marzano tomatoes produced in Campania.
The New York Times in the article The Mistery of the San Marzano denounces its counterfeiting:
«Italy is one of the largest producers of tomato paste in the world but not all of this product comes from Italian tomatoes. Tomato paste is imported into Italy from China. Producers have learned to dilute triple concentrate with water, add salt, pasteurize it, and sell it as double tomato paste. But this cannot be labeled as "produced in Italy", even when the tomatoes were produced in China but processed in Italy».
Italian law permits unlabeled tomato cans to be exported, and upon arrival in America, any label can be added to them.
- If you want to ensure you buy real San Marzano tomatoes from Agro Sarnese-Nocerino area, read the label carefully:
If the label is written in Italian, it doesn't mean they are the real thing - Make sure it says produced in Italy, not processed in Italy
- Look for the PDO certification
- If the price is reasonable, they are not the real thing
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Sonrisa Rouier
I do have a question on San Marzano tomatoes. I bought seeds labeled as such from a seed company. They do produce a different looking paste tomato than Roma sold in the US. The taste is also better. They aren't grown in Sicily but I am in California. I plant enough to can tomatoes for most of the winter. Can the seeds actually be from original San Marzano tomatoes?