Luigi Vitelli DOP Whole Peeled San Marzano Plum Tomatoes 28 oz Can

San Marzano tomatoes are grown exclusively in the Agro Sarnese-Nocerino area of Italy. This is a variety of plum tomatoes with less seeds and water, perfectly suited for cooking. It's a very old variety, extremely limited in quantity grown and produced. Because production is so very limited, the Italian Government and the European Union have formed a way of protecting consumers from fraud by having San Marzano tomatoes tightly controlled. DOP or denomination of protected origin is the mechanism that the government is using to tightly control the production and marketing of genuine San Marzano tomatoes. Labels for DOP product must be individually numbered to each and every can in specific lots and government officials must oversee this application. Unless a product has a DOP number and label it is not a San Marzano tomato.