Tallinn  - The Italian embassy in the Estonian capital, Tallinn has filed a complaint with the Estonian Foreign Ministry over the sale of meat dumplings bearing the "Mafia" moniker, the Baltic News Service reported Thursday.

The embassy contacted the Estonian Foreign Ministry after it became aware that food company Alissa Pluss was marketing "Mafia Pelmeni," with packaging featuring a map of Sicily and a gun.

Pelmeni are traditional Russian dumplings that are a popular food throughout Eastern Europe.

Valeri Platonov, a board member of Alissa Pluss, told Estonian television channel ETV: "It makes you smile. It is a marketing trick - the idea of the package is to be funny."

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kersti Luha said that if a product went against another country's good reputation, the ministry would contact the national Consumer Protection Board. (dpa)