Italian food has never been this well ‘controlled’. The Ministry of Agriculture has declared that last year it performed over 110 thousand checks and seized over 60 million euros, through its four control bodies (Inspectorate for Fraud Repression – ICQRF, State Forestry Corps, the Carabinieri agricultural and foodstuffs anti‑fraud unit and the Coast Guard). In the first two months of 2015, over 15 thousand checks were performed and approximately 13 million euros were seized. “Made in Italy”protection is in full force online too: in 2014 Ministry of Agriculture intervened 160 times to block the illegal commerce of fake Italian products on the European market, from Parmesan to fake Chianti, which has a value of over 50million euros.
“There is no other sector that has seen such innovation as the food industry in recent years – declared vice-minister Andrea Olivero – . And yet we often forget that there is not just a long tradition behind the quality of our products, but also research and great innovation. As well as stealing vast turnover from us, the phenomenon of ‘Italian sounding’ connects the made in Italy label to products that are nowhere near our quality. The tools that we have implemented and are using, starting with our ex officio, are very effective but we have to be further reassured that globalisation of the market is accompanied by globalisation of checks to tackle the phenomenon of fakes and preserving a key sector for the safety of consumers and prevention of organised crime. Italy is at the cutting edge of this battle”
“In light of Expo Milano, we have also increased our battle against food pirates online” stated Minister Maurizio Martina. “The online sale of Italian food produce is worth over 1 million euros and the ministry is ready to protect our quality produce, also using partnerships with big players such as EBay. It is with great pride that we emphasise that we are the only country in the world to have stipulated such an agreement with an online platform with EBay’s reach – 800 million adverts all over the world. And the numbers are proving us right; we have had 160 reports of false made in Italy for a value of 50 million euros. When it comes to the fight against counterfeiting, Italy may just have something to teach”.