It says two-thirds of the restaurants they reviewed mistook the ingredients or the preparations.

Italians are very proud of their cooking and their recipes, rooted in many different regions and traditions. But when they travel, most stay well away from Italian food and with good reason: some 60% of Italian restaurants abroad are awful, the academy says.

The Italian Academy of Cooking was founded in 1953 to protect the reputation of Italian cuisine. Since then, millions of Italians have emigrated, taking with them their recipes to every part of the world.

But, these days, Italian cooking is not always authentic.

In some takeaway restaurants the classic pizza has mutated into pineapple cocktails and the spaghetti is often a poor stringy impersonation of the real thing, the academy says.

Whether it's ragu, tiramisu or plain old pasta, the original recipes are often betrayed.

Many chefs outside Italy are adapting dishes to local tastes.