Neapolitan Pizza Gets Protection: Report

Anybody attempting to make a sub-standard Neapolitan pizza better watch their backs from now on as this pizza has friends in very high places.

Friday saw the introduction of a European Union ruling that stipulates stringent rules about the making of this Naples classic and anything else is simply not a Neapolitan, the BBC reported.

To make a real Neapolitan you must use: durum wheat flour; sea salt; fresh yeast; genuine mozzarella cheese from the milk of buffaloes and San Marzano tomatoes from the plains south of Mount Vesuvius, according to Daily Telegraph.

The Traditional Specialty Guaranteed label put in place by the EU also controls the way the pizza is made. Only wood-fired ovens can be used and the dough must be stretched by hand, the report said.

The ruling brings an end to over a century's worth of bickering about the authenticity of the pie and securing the ruling is a source of great pride of the locals of Naples, the BBC said.

The Italian farmers' association told the BBC that only half of Italy's pizzerias actually use the right ingredients.

Italy is the EU country with the most protected products, outstripping both France and Spain, the report added. The ruling could push the price of the special pizza higher, the BBC pointed out.

Local legend has it that Naples is the birth place of pizza and the original Margherita version was created in 1889 in honor of Queen Margherita of Savoy.