Fraud? Italy’s Number One Pasta is Made in Iowa

I'm lucky enough to say I've been to Italy. It's a beautiful place. I spent some time in Tuscany, Rome, Florence, and Venice. While I was there, I ate a LOT of pasta. I mean, when in Rome, right?

Needless to say, I was quite surprised to find there's an Italy/Iowa connection that's about more than the vowel sharing the two places share. Turns out, Italy's number one pasta brand is made in Iowa. And, not everyone is thrilled about it.

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According to the foodie website Eat This, Not That, pasta giant Barilla, which produces around 25% of all the pasta sold in the U.S., is made in Iowa and New York, despite the claim that they're Italy's number one pasta brand.

As a result of people being sue-happy, this has bit Barilla in the butt (linguini?) and they're being sued. From the Eat This, Not This story, two plaintiffs, identified as Matthew Sinatro and Jessica Prost, are suing Barilla. Why? Because of the claims, it's Italy's number one brand, they purchased the pasta thinking it was made in Italy and made from Italian ingredients.

They say they purchased the pasta under false pretenses and, yep, they want to be compensated for it. Because, apparently, pasta made in Iowa just isn't good enough for these snobs.

How Italian is Barilla? Is this lawsuit fair? Well, depends I guess. Marketing is one thing, but false claims certainly aren't cool. I'm sure you've picked up reading this that I think the lawsuit is BS. Why? Because the claim that they're Italy's number one brand in no way implies they're making the product there.

Maybe that's just me. Oh, and Barilla was founded in Parma, Italy. These days, they call Illinois their headquarters and home.

Buon appetito!