Why San Marzano tomatoes are the fake Rolexes of canned tomatoes
San Marzano tomatoes are praised for their intense tomato flavor and are therefore also called the very best canned tomatoes. I completely agree, provided you actually have real San Marzano tomatoes in your can. Worldwide, plenty of fakes are being sold…
Making pasta sauce with a can of tomatoes is a must. Compared with other canned tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes have a sweet rather than sour taste. That’s because the long, meaty tomatoes grow in volcanic soil in the sea breeze near Naples. Only tomatoes grown in the right way in the designated areas receive the Italian DOP (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta) certification. Planting a San Marzano seed somewhere else and growing it into a tomato plant may make the tomato genetically identical, but these tomatoes do not deserve such a certification. But that’s not the only problem with this tomato.
Fake
In other countries, such as the United States, this luxury tomato is also widely being fraudulently marketed in another way. Because that’s how it goes with every premium brand, whether it’s wine, Chanel, Rolex or, in this case, tomatoes: San Marzano tomatoes cost more than ordinary canned tomatoes, and counterfeits are soon lurking. Italians send unlabeled tomatoes to the US, and companies there stick a DOP label on them; in America, DOP is not regulated. It is estimated that at least 95 percent of the so-called San Marzanos in the US are fake. Shocking, right?
Check, check, double-check
Besides being fake tomatoes, these tomatoes are often also picked by migrant workers under appalling conditions. Because when you buy a can of tomatoes from southern Italy, you’re often buying a can full of tears and pain. If you pay just 45 cents for a can, someone else is paying the painful price. Here on the shelves, you’re unlikely to find fakes because of the strict regulations. But if you’re still not sure, always check whether it carries the DOP or Pomodoro San Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese Nocerino certification. That way, you’re at least guaranteed the best tomato sauce ever.
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