San Marzano tomatoes are a gift from the Gods. These treasured, flavorful beauties are a variety of plum tomatoes with fewer seeds and a less acidic profile beloved by home chefs and professionals alike. But most of those foodie types worth their weight in shakshuka know that when it comes to San Marzano tomatoes, they must be DOP certified or Denominazione d’ Origine Protetta (translation: protected designation of origin).
Now, one California woman, Andre Valiente, is filing a lawsuit against Pennsylvania canned tomato maven Simpson Imports for using what she feels is misleading packaging that tricks shoppers into believing they’re buying the genuine San Marzano article at the same higher prices as the real stuff retails for.
While the company tried to have the case thrown out, a US District Court Judge from the Northern District of California said the case could proceed.


















