Anger in Italy is rising with the continued advent of mafia-themed foods produced by foreign companies.
“Chilli Mafia” peanuts, “Al Capone pasta”, “Wicked Cosa Nostra” tomato sauce, and “Don Corleone” liqueurs might have the makings of a decent dinner, but Italy is increasingly outraged at the food and drink products which seem to glamorise the organised gangs.
Coldiretti, the country’s largest agricultural producers organisation, has called on foreign governments and the European Union to stamp out what it called a “market of horrors" being sold under a mafia theme.
They range from pasta called “Mafia” to cafes in Bulgaria named “Maffiozo” and a book of recipes called “The Mafia Cookbook". A German company offers spicy dips named “Palermo Mafia Shooting", while “Chilli Mafia Naga Nuts” are advertised as “a seriously hot kick anytime of the day.”
The products are marketed in a number of countries, including the UK, the US and Spain.
Last month Italian politicians protested at a chain of restaurants in Spain called “La Mafia", which offer a dining experience inspired by the mob, with pizza and pasta served beneath posters showing scenes from The Godfather.
Condiretti holds that these are “unacceptable commercial practises”, and regrets that companies are “making money out of one of the most painful scourges of our society,” especially in a land where mafia killings are still carried out regularly.
It also said mafia groups such as the Camorra in Naples, Cosa Nostra in Sicily and the ’Ndrangheta in Calabria were increasingly investing in farming, food production and restaurants.
Economic hardship among the 42% of young people who are unemployed means that many would accept work and a wage from a firm controlled by mobsters.
