CCarabinieri checks throughout Italy on PDO and PGI products. Various sanctions for irregularities found
The control activity of the Carabinieri Command for Agri-food Protection departments continues in the quality brand sector.
The protection of DOP and IGP products – as stated in a note – has the objective of protecting producers, who strictly follow the production specifications regulated at European level, and consumers, in relation to their choices of purchasing quality products. For this reason, the note adds, the military of the Carabinieri Command for Agri-food Protection have been engaged in inspections at various companies in recent weeks.
In the provinces of Asti and Cuneo three companies were fined for advertising the wines they produced on their company websites by mentioning Dop and Igp grape varieties even though they were common table wines. The total amount of the fines imposed was 1.500 euros; in the province of Cremona the owner of a dairy was warned for having referred to Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Dop on the company website, in violation of the labelling regulations;
In the province of Novara the owner of a dairy was warned because, in his business, there were advertising signs and price lists that evoked Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Dop and Pane di Altamura Dop, without having the right to do so. He was also fined for not registering in the buffalo milk tracking system.
A Parma three people were reported because they were using "conventional" hazelnuts and lemons in the production of ice cream instead of those with the quality brand, Nocciola di Piemonte PGI and Limone di Sorrento PGI, as declared on the signs displayed to the public.
A Modena a trader was reported for displaying generic mozzarella in special trays at the sales counter without the original packaging, falsely declaring on the sign displayed to the public that it was Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP; in the province of Cuneo the legal representative of a chocolate shop was warned for having produced and marketed “Extra Dark Chocolate with Piedmont Hazelnuts” without the authorization of the Consortium for the Protection of Piedmont Hazelnuts IGP.
In the province of Massa Carrara the legal representative of a pasta factory was reported because he used, in the preparation of fresh stuffed pasta, a product that did not belong to the protected circuit instead of Fontina DOP cheese, as indicated on the label.
Still in the province of Napoli, together with the Supervisory Agents of the Grana Padano Protection Consortium, checks were carried out at various supermarkets, which led to the seizure of 60 kilos of aged cheese, with a value of approximately 650 euros, falsely labelled and sold as Grana Padano Dop.
In the province of Catania, a company dedicated to the production and marketing of beer was fined for having evoked on the label, without authorization from the Protection Consortium, the protected denomination Cioccolato di Modica Igp. 800 33 cl bottles of beer with a total value of 3.200 euros were also seized. The fine imposed was 4 thousand euros. In the same province, a female entrepreneur was charged for not having complied with the requirements given in a previous inspection, in which she had been warned for having unduly evoked, in the presentation and labeling of the products advertised online and also found at the large-scale retail trade, the protected denomination Fico d'India di San Cono Dop. Another entrepreneur was warned to remove, from the dairy's website, any reference to Provola dei Nebrodi Dop, because the producer is not subject to the control system.
Still in the province of Catania, an entrepreneur who marketed distillates referring to the Fico d'India dell'Etna Dop, obtained however from fruits without certification, was reported. At the same time, 65 bottles of the product were seized for a total value of 400 euros.
Article published on 27 August 2021 - 10:34
