Italian women in Bari, Italy, famous for selling their homemade orecchiette, or “little ears,” style of pasta are up in arms over accusations that they’re selling store-bought pasta and trying to pass it off as homemade.
For years the women have sold the pasta on the streets in the city’s old quarter, preparing it by hand as tourists watched.
However, the Italian news site Quinto Potere is accusing the pasta makers of “orecchiette fraud” for allegedly selling mass-produced pasta to unsuspecting visitors, according to the Daily Mail.
In response, the ladies, led by social media star Nunzia Caputo, call the claims nonsense and have walked off the job in protest.
Caputo tells the Italian news agency ANSA, “There is no scam,” insisting the pasta is “all handmade” but that they have to dry it for hygiene reasons.
Still, journalist Antonio Loconte claims he can back up the accusations, saying he found factory orecchiette boxes in garbage bins.
Bari’s council has said it is currently looking into establishing regulations to ensure produce is made in the traditional way while also protecting pasta makers, per the Daily Mail.
“Authenticity is what has given Bari extraordinary appeal,” Vito Leccese, the city’s mayor, adds. “We aren’t a cultural mecca like Florence or Rome. It is the traditional activity in the historic centre that gives this place allure.”