1,000 Fake Parma Hams Seized

27.02.08

Parma, February 27th 2008 - The Parma Ham Consortium have seized approximately 1,000 counterfeit Parma Hams found in an inspection raid.  This is the most complex and significant operation in the history of the Consortium's Office of Legal Affairs and Inspection. The two month long investigation started in Bari in October when the first counterfeit hams were seized. The famous 'Ducal Crown' brand, which distinguishes authentic Parma Ham, was added using a false iron on to non-genuine hams. After a lengthy investigation the names of the culprits were finally exposed.  The counterfeiters were the representatives of two firms in the cold meat sector - one of which is based in Rovigo and the other in Vicenza.  In close cooperation with the NAS (Office against Adulteration of Foodstuffs) of the Carabinieri of Padua and the Public Prosecutor's Office of Vicenza, the inspectors of the Consortium managed to trace the fake hams in Apulia, Campania, Emilia-Romagna and Sicily. Approximately 1,000 false Parma Hams were confiscated.  The individuals involved in the fraud confessed their offence and handed over the fake brand irons used for the counterfeiting to the police.

The representatives of the two firms who marketed the product, along with the craftsmen from Ferrara who supplied the fake branding irons were all charged and bailed.  They are now facing a penal sentence for commercial fraud, an administrative fine and a penalty.  They will also be obliged to pay for the considerable damages caused to the image of the Consortium and the DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) of the Parma Ham. As the investigation was coming to a close, a Court of Avellino passed a judgement in the case of a Campanian entrepreneur who had been under investigation for a similar, yet less extensive, fraud in 1999.   In this case, the accused was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and fined an initial amount of 3,800 Euros.  Administrative and civil proceedings on the case are to follow.
 
"It is one of the most significant operations in the history of the Office of Legal Affairs and Inspection of the Consortium of the Parma Ham - remarked Stefano Fanti, the director of the Consortium - a complex operation which lasted for two months and had a successful outcome thanks to the painstaking controls carried out by our inspectors in cooperation with the Office against Adulteration of Foodstuffs of Padua and by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Vicenza".

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