EU court ruling leaves sour taste for Italian balsamic vinegar producers

German company allowed to use words 'aceto balsamico' to market its vinegar products

Italian producers of balsamic vinegar have lost a legal challenge at the EU's top court to prevent a German company from using the names "aceto" or "aceto balsamico" to market its vinegar products.

The Consortium for Balsamic Vinegar of Modena sued the company, Balema, on the premise that it had violated the use of the geographical food designation term aceto balsamico di Modena (balsamic vinegar of Modena), which has been in place since 2009 and can only be used by producers in Modena, in the Emilia Romagna region.