The staff of the Veterinary Area of the Prevention Department carried out a preventive seizure of 20 tons of food products, mainly packaged and belonging to different categories, including meat, fish products, dairy products and even unidentified food matrices. The operation involved the areas between Gianturco and Corso Novara, involving 23 veterinary managers, six prevention technicians and four food technologists.
The general director of the ASL Napoli 1 Center, Ciro Verdoliva, stressed that this is one of the most impressive operations ever carried out to ensure food safety. During inspections in five retailers and as many warehouses, numerous irregularities and tampering emerged. The main problems include the lack of comprehensible information (exclusively in Chinese), the addition of labels in Italian that are discordant with the original ones in Chinese, and the presence of allergens that are not correctly indicated.
Many products lacked labels and adequate traceability documentation, while some showed hygiene deficiencies and deterioration. The technicians of the Prevention Department suspect that many irregularities are linked to the ban on the import of food matrices of animal origin, some of which are not recognizable either by their appearance or by the information in Chinese.
The operation arose from the suspicion of “circulation and sale of counterfeit foods” during routine checks at ethnically-oriented commercial establishments. Careful work and laboratory analyses confirmed the presence of prohibited foods of animal origin in products marketed under false labeling. Cataloguing and verification activities of the seized foods are underway, along with investigations to confirm or reject suspicions of illegal importation.
Director Verdoliva thanked all the operators who contributed to making the supply of food safer, underlining the continuous commitment of the police forces in ensuring public order during these control activities. The verification operations will continue with the aim of protecting public health and ensuring compliance with current regulations.
Article published on November 13, 2023 - 07:04
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