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Source: AFP
At a tiny high-end confectionery successful Vienna, chefs enactment the finishing touches to 1 of Austria's signature souvenirs: Mozart cocoa balls filled with marzipan, pistachio, and affluent almond and hazelnut nougat.
Family-owned Leschanz inactive painstakingly makes the Mozartkugel chocolates by manus earlier putting them successful their signature wrapping, featuring a representation of Austria's 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
But Leschanz is successful the number these days, and with the fig of brands rising, the cocoa balls beloved by tourists and locals alike are often nary longer adjacent produced successful Austria.
Source: AFP
US nutrient elephantine Mondelez, which owns 1 of the astir recognisable brands, moved its accumulation from the Austrian metropolis of Salzburg -- Mozart's birthplace -- to Eastern Europe past month, reigniting a heated and long-running selling debate.
"It's a shame, due to the fact that Mozart balls are an Austrian product," caput confectioner and proprietor Wolfgang Leschanz, 75, told AFP.
At his firm, 10 time-honoured steps are required to marque 1 azygous Mozartkugel and astir 20,000 of the delicacies are freshly made to bid each year.
Only 1 'original'
Invented by confectioner Paul Fuerst successful Salzburg successful 1890, the Mozartkugel became fashionable successful Europe aft winning a golden medal astatine a Paris nutrient just successful 1905.
Source: AFP
Fuerst's great-great-grandson Martin present owns the business, which produces astir 3.5 cardinal handmade balls annually, inactive successful Salzburg and inactive utilizing the accepted recipe.
Fuerst chocolates can present beryllium ordered online for transportation crossed the European Union.
But with rising popularity person travel imitators and an array of knockoffs, antithetic fillings, wrappings, names -- and besides competing claims and ineligible disputes.
The Fuerst household had to combat for years for designation of their "Original Salzburger Mozartkugel" wrapped successful metallic foil with bluish people -- including successful the courts -- due to the fact that their progenitor made the mistake of not protecting his instauration successful the archetypal place.
Mozart chocolates bash not person protected designation of root status, a European extortion for food-related products from definite geographical areas, specified arsenic champagne and parmesan cheese.
Even German heavyweight Reber, which produces 500,000 balls regular conscionable crossed the borderline from Salzburg, is allowed to telephone its Mozart balls "authentic", adjacent if it cannot usage the word "original".
Source: AFP
Contacted by AFP, Mondelez International, formerly known arsenic Kraft Foods, declined to uncover wherever wrong its "European network" it began manufacturing the recently launched "Authentic Mirabell Mozartkugeln" successful April.
For decades, the group's chocolates had been made astatine a works successful Salzburg -- but the installation closed past twelvemonth aft teetering connected the brink of bankruptcy for years.
Citing precocious cocoa prices and rising costs for energy, Mondelez said its Mirabell marque was "a existent gem" but the value of the products had to beryllium reduced somewhat "to stay competitive".
Source: AFP
Mondelez's Mozart balls presently merchantability for astir $0.50 apiece, portion 1 of Leschanz's handmade confections costs much than 7 times that amount.
The Pro-Ge commercialized union, representing much than 60 workers laid disconnected erstwhile the Salzburg works closed, criticised Mondelez's "lack of transparency" astir its caller accumulation site.
"The proviso concatenation of an ovum tin beryllium traced amended than that," it said.
'Flagship product'
Viennese chocolatier Heindl besides voiced interest astir Austria's emblematic confection being produced "somewhere successful Eastern Europe".
Source: AFP
"The Mozartkugel is simply a flagship merchandise of Austria, conscionable similar the Sachertorte cocoa barroom oregon the pome strudel oregon the poppy effect strudel," managing manager Andreas Heindl, 63, told AFP.
"When idiosyncratic comes to Austria, they privation to instrumentality Austrian products location with them, particularly erstwhile it's Mozartkugeln," said Heindl, whose begetter founded the firm.
Source: AFP
He said helium could not ideate moving accumulation overseas to prevention money, adjacent with cocoa prices tripling hitting businesses hard.
Leschanz likened Mozart balls produced extracurricular Austria to a "souvenir cupful emblazoned with Mozart's portrait" that is bought successful haste lone for the purchaser to observe it says "Made successful China" connected the bottom.
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Source: AFP
