Is your spaghetti dinner really Italian?

Not if you’re using marinara sauce from a jar, regular supermarket pasta, everyday olive oil or — gasp — grated parmesan cheese, says Pasquale Bova, the Italian trade commissioner to Canada.

And he warns it’s a very serious economic issue hurting both Canadian taste buds and Italy’s food export business. So the Toronto office of the commission has just launched its biggest ever advertising campaign to raise consumer awareness about imitation Italian food products.

“If you’re not buying Italian, you’re not eating Italian,” Bova said matter of factly in an interview.

Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are some of the largest consumers of imitation Italian food products, according to the commission. Meanwhile Canada is among the Top 10 worldwide destinations for real, made-in-Italy food and beverage exports.

However, Canada buys an estimated $3.6 billion of “fake” Italian foods every year, says Bova.

The offending food products on Canadian store shelves are not crafted in Italy but are packaged, presented and marketed in ways that look Italian, which can be confusing for consumers, he said.

“Italian cheeses have more look-alikes than Elvis Presley,” says the commission’s website, italianmade.com.

“Real Asiago cheese is made on a mountain in Italy. Don’t settle for foothills of North America,” it says.

Bova said conversely, if cheeses such as parmesan are pulverized into tiny grains and packaged, they are loaded with preservatives and definitely not Italian.

Besides cheese, some of the biggest offenders on the market are fake olive oils, balsamic vinegars and cured meats such as prosciutto and mortadella.

“A lot of the Italian cured meats here are as Canadian as maple syrup,” said Bova.

Funded by the Italian government, the new “Made in Italy” campaign (#madeinitaly) includes ads in food industry trade magazines, digital advertising and an extensive social media campaign.

A comical video on the website features a phony brand of pasta sauce called “Authentissimo” with a red, white and green label made by an Italian-looking grandmother who pulls her grey wig off at the end to reveal she is just an actress.

The commission is also working with large grocery chains to do in-store awareness for shoppers, and Italian Michelin-starred chefs will also be visiting culinary schools across Canada in the coming months.

According to the trade commission’s market research, 58 per cent of respondents agreed they would be willing to pay more for authentic Italian products, with 41 per cent of Canadian consumers believing that products made in Italy are superior to their Italian-sounding counterparts.

Also, 79 per cent of those surveyed stated they would be encouraged to purchase Italian products if they were identified as authentic.

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To make sure you’re getting the real deal, the commission advises to look for “Made in Italy” on the label, the region it’s from, or a DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) logo or IGP (Indication of Geographical Protection) certification on packaging.

But why is it so important to buy Italian-made?

“Because you’re buying part of Italy: the richness of the soil, air and sun, the passion of Italian craft, and the quality demanded by its people,” explained Bova, the trade commissioner to Canada since 2011.

Some analysts don’t think it’s such a big issue since it’s a widespread phenomenon in numerous cultures and types of food.

“Most food is misrepresented in the market place,” said Douglas Fisher, president of food service consultancy FHG International Inc.

“For example, organic labelling is used on many items but less than 35 per cent (of those items) are actually organic,” he said.

Bova sees it otherwise.

“Italian culture is famous for its food, where craft, quality and flavour reign supreme. It is where prosciutto alone can reignite taste buds or the pasta, freshly made, melts in your mouth.”

How to spot food products that aren’t from the old country

They often have green, red and white labels (like Italy’s flag), or a picture of an Italian-looking grandmother in the kitchen.

Brands that have Italian-sounding names, usually ending in “a,” “I,” or “o,” minus the protected geographical status logo certifying it is made in Italy.

Catchphrases in ads or on packaging like “taste of Italy,” “like Mama used to make,” “authentic Italian flavour” or “packed in Italy” as opposed to Made in Italy.