Confectionery factory seized in Striano for serious environmental violations

A new chapter in the investigation into the pollution of the Sarno River opened on August 4, 2026, with the precautionary seizure of the IDAV SpA plant, a confectionery company operating in Striano.

The operation, coordinated by the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor's Office and carried out by the Castellammare di Stabia Port Authority in collaboration with the Striano Carabinieri Station, revealed serious environmental irregularities.

The company had already been placed under seizure on December 10, 2024, by the Carabinieri NOE of Naples following a decree issued by the Torre Annunziata investigating judge, for environmental crimes including pollution, illegal discharges of industrial wastewater, unauthorized emissions, and building and landscaping violations. In July 2025, the Court ordered the release of the seizure with the explicit requirement that the facility be prohibited from being used for production activities.

Recent inspections, however, revealed that work had resumed without the necessary environmental permits: there was no permit for the discharge of industrial wastewater, which was instead dispersed directly onto the forecourt and collected in tanks adjacent to the Rio Foce canal.

Furthermore, the authorization for atmospheric emissions was suspended by the Municipality of Striano and confirmed by the TAR, but the company continued its production activities in violation of the ban imposed by the Court.

Fruit products, such as cherries, peaches, apricots, and oranges, were processed within the plant, using labeled metal tanks for storage. Given the irregularities and the risk of worsening environmental damage, law enforcement officials urgently seized the 5.000 square meter area once again.

This operation is part of a broader campaign of controls and investigations, coordinated by the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor's Office with the technical support of ARPAC (Regional Environmental Protection Agency) and in collaboration with the Avellino and Nocera Inferiore Public Prosecutor's Offices, aimed at combating all sources of pollution in the Sarno River basin and along the coast of the Sorrento Peninsula. The proceedings are still ongoing, and, in accordance with the principle of presumption of innocence, no one has yet been definitively established as guilty.