Il Pachino

Of all the world's tomatoes, Pachino are the most expensive, costing E6 per kilo. However, the Sicilian farmers who grow them are only paid E0.50 per kilo and Fabio Granata, who is part of a commission investigating organised crime in Italy, is suspicious that the Mafia is taking a cut. There is an allegation that the tomatoes are transported 800km to Fondi in central Italy to be packaged before being sent back to Pachino on different trucks for distribution to retailers nationwide. The controversy came to light on 3 February when the "King of the Housewives", the television presenter Alessandro Di Pietro, advised his viewers not to buy them.