I cooked there for three years, and I was amazed at how many of the ingredients were imported from Italy.
The two biggest problems with the Olive Garden are:
1) it was never intended to be true Italian cuisine-true Italian cuisine is a lot less tomato-based sauces and a lot less beef- more white sauces, seafood etc.
It's like Chinese food in America-it's not true Chinese cuisine, it's Chinese-American cuisine. Example: Chow mein doesn't exist in China
This is Italian-American cuisine. Example: pepperoni doesn't exist in Italy.
2) The recipes have to be so simplified so almost anyone can make them.
Having said these things (and I've spent time in Southern Italy & Sicily) the end result is pretty decent. I was never ashamed of the hundreds of meals I cooked, even though they were sometimes less than completely authentic.