Food manufacturer Cento is committing “tomato fraud,” lawsuit alleges

Two California residents are suing Cento Fine Foods, alleging the company engaged in “tomato fraud” by claiming that the tomatoes in one of its canned products are the authentic San Marzano variety from Italy.

The plaintiffs claim that Cento’s “Certified San Marzano” labeling is “false, misleading and unfair,” alleging that the tomatoes in the product lack the quality and taste associated with the real fruit.

New Jersey-based Cento Fine Foods did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

On its website, the company says its San Marzano tomatoes are certified by an independent third-party agency called Agri-Cert. However, Cento’s labeling suggests the product has an official DOP designation, a label granted to San Marzano tomatoes by an Italian consortium that stands for ‘protected designation of origin,’ the lawsuit alleges.

Cento’s label designs are used to “falsely convey they are the famous San Marzano tomato grown in the traditional method and certified by [the] Consortium,” the suit alleges.

The consortium, known as Il Consorzio di Tutela del Pomodoro San Marzano DOP, promotes and regulates the sale of San Marzano tomatoes, which the suit states must meet “strict production and quality standards.” 

On its website, Cento says that San Marzano tomatoes come from the town that bears their name in the Campania region of southern Italy. The tomatoes have a “thicker tomato wall, fewer seeds and less acidity than other tomatoes, making them ideal for authentic Italian cuisine,” according to Cento, which claims to be the only U.S. company with a production facility in the region.

Cento customers can also trace the exact field where the tomatoes in their product were grown by scanning the lot code on their can, according to the company’s website

The suit isn’t the first time Cento’s tomatoes have been called into question. A 2019 lawsuit filed in New York alleged the manufacturer doesn’t produce as many San Marzano tomatoes as it claims.