Italy - Food frauds: 1 Italian out of 3 requires detention for culprits
Faced with food fraud and falsification, 31% of Italians interviewed during the 2017 Coldiretti and Ixé investigation requires culprits to be arrested, and 54% think that “it is a very serious case for the country”.
The Italian Institute states that “in the first quarter of 2017, the ICQRF (Italian Central Inspectorate for the protection of Quality and Prevention of Fraud of food products) seized food products whose value exceeds 59.3 million euros, while in the same period last year, the figure was 3.29 million”. One of the violations concerned false extra virgin olive oil illegally sold as 100% Italian but obtained with blends of deodorized oils from Spain. Among online operations, there are those concerning Prosecco, which is still the most exported Italian wine, but also the “wine kits” that are miraculous powders that promise the most prestigious Italian labels in few days!
A reform of crimes in the agri-food sector to update current rules since they date back to the early 1900s.
Source: Coldiretti Website