>>I bought some kiwis last week and to my surprise they were labeled "Grown in Italy" - What?
Yep. NZ re-established/commercialized the cultivar then sold it cheap to other nations. Not any more: lots of new apple varieties, red kiwis etc are better protected now.
Over your winters I often see NZ apples and other corefruit in the US. NZ apples tend to have more crunch than Washington varities; if you see any, try NZ Jazz, Smitten or Envy.
"... They ne'er cared for us
yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses
crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to
support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act
established against the rich, and provide more
piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain
the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and
there's all the love they bear us."
-- Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Act 1, scene 1
