In recent days, the military of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Health have been engaged in a series of checks aimed at guaranteeing the wholesomeness of food destined to end up on Italian tables.
Il NAS of Pescara, who carried out an inspection at an artisan laboratory dedicated to the production of egg pasta, told a person to the Administrative Authority to have:
- activated a deposit for packaging and finished products without having registered with the competent authority;
- kept the food storage and the pasta production laboratory in poor hygienic conditions.
The staff of the Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service of the Teramo Local Health Unit, who intervened on the spot as reported by the Carabinieri, ordered the immediate suspension of the activities carried out in the warehouse, the seizure of 6 pallets of packaging as contaminated, and the destruction of 2 quintals of pasta held in poor hygienic conditions.
Il NAS of Bologna has concentrated its activities on the wine sector, ascertaining, at two different farms:
- failure to notify for registration purposes of a deposit used for the mixed storage of various foods;
- failure to update the authorizations for the change of the legal representative;
- the abusive exercise of the restaurant business carried out in non-notified premises;
- the holding in the cellar of prohibited products (sugar and alcoholic distillate);
In this context, the military, in addition to proceeding with the seizure of the illegal premises, placed the seals on:
- 59.247 liters of wine;
- 584 kg of various foods and sugar;
- 15.376 bottles of 0,75 lt. of wines of different types.
The overall value of the measures adopted is over half a million euros, while that of high administrative fines is around 13.000 euros.
Il NAS of Rome has carried out investigations on some of the water and soft drink deposits in the capital and its surroundings. At the end of the checks, the military reported to the Administrative Authority the lawyers responsible for two different food warehouses. Both people have violated industry regulations by marketing bottled mineral water with irregular labeling.
In one of the cases, the NAS inspectors noted that the goods included wordings and / or statements referring to a product of the same brand, but of different consistency. In the other, instead, the Carabinieri have found wordings with advertising purposes prohibited by current legislation.
During their investigations, the military proceeded with the administrative seizure of more than about 85.000 water bottles, and increased administrative fines for a total value of 60.000 euros.
The men of the NAS of the Capital, together with the staff of the ASL Roma / 2, have also placed seals on a butcher shop managed by a non-EU citizen. The closure measure, from the value of approximately 250.000 euro, was adopted because the premises of the activity were in serious health and sanitary and structural deficiencies.
Il NAS of Florence instead it carried out an inspection activity at a Tuscan rotisserie. During the inspection, the Carabinieri proceeded with the medical seizure of:
- about one ton of various foods (mainly parcels of raw ham, cured meats and cheeses) as they are without labeling and documentation that certifies their traceability or in the frozen physical state with expiry date exceeded;
- almost 300 sandwiches, stuffed with the aforementioned foods, and intended to be marketed to the students of the surrounding schools, for which the exercise represents a reference point for the sale of gastronomic products during the break.
During the same check, in addition, the Florentine military, in order to verify the working position of the personnel employed in the commercial activity, requested the support of colleagues from the Nucleus Carabinieri Labor Inspectorate who discovered irregularities relating to 6 of 14 workers employed, and unauthorized installation of an audiovisual system.
The staff of the Local Health Unit, competent for the area, intervened on the spot following the military report, ordered the immediate suspension of the gastronomy / delicatessen activity up to the regularization of the non-conformities found.
The commercial value of the inhibited structures is estimated at around 800.000, while that of the high administrative sanctions is more than 28.000 euros.
Il NAS of Trevisoat the end of an investigation carried out in a commercial establishment for the sale of food products, he referred a person to the Judicial Authority. The suspect, the legal manager of the activity, is accused of attempted commercial fraud for having sold food products that have expired, the labels of which he had fraudulently altered in order to continue marketing.
In another inspection, instead, the men of the Treviso NAS controlled a cellar, inside which they proceeded to seize three wine vessels containing 170 hl of wine. The provision, from the value of 85.000 euro, was adopted as the cellar records had not been updated.
even the NAS of Lecce has carried out checks in the wine sector. Following an investigation carried out at a company in Lecce, the soldiers of the Apulian NAS seized 34 hl of a vinous product without indications concerning traceability.
Il NAS of Milanand finally proceeded to the immediate closure of a pizza restaurant due to serious health and hygiene deficiencies due to an infestation of insects (cockroaches and cockroaches) as well as to management problems.