29.169 anti-fraud controls on the agri-food chain, of which 3.285 inspections directly at the production plants, with particular attention to PDO, PGI, organic, oil and wine sector quality products.
Inspection activity on eCommerce channels is intense, given the increase in online sales following the restrictive measures of the movement of people adopted by the Government for the containment of Covid-19, in Italian ports, where agri-food products have arrived, and in reports of speculation and unfair practices.
The report on the activity of the Ministry of Anti-Fraud Inspectorate of the first four months of the emergency Covid-19 is online on the Mipaaf website, during which the agri-food chain continued to provide its indispensable contribution to consumers and it did not stop even during the lockdown, from production, to transformation, to sale, continuing to guarantee quality, safety and excellence.
Over a third of the checks were carried out in the northern area of the country, in particular in Lombardy and Veneto, to guarantee the largest and most consistent Ig production in the world: Grana Padano, with over 5,2 million shapes and the "System Prosecco ", with over 600 million bottles produced (2019 data).
The irregularities found were in line with the indices recorded before the emergency state, demonstrating the fact that there was no speculation at a time of particular difficulty for the whole world.
“In these four months the Italian agri-food industry has continued to guarantee safety, transparency and quality, proving to be one of the most strategic sectors during the Covid-19 pandemic. The men and women of the ICQRF continued to cowardice for the good of the community and of those who work with commitment and sacrifice, against unfair practices and speculative attitudes that damage healthy supply chains. Companies, farmers, agricultural laborers with a huge sense of responsibility have never stopped, even when the whole country was motionless, ensuring everyone healthy and excellent food, amidst enormous sacrifices and difficulties ". So did Minister Teresa Bellanova. “When everything was closed, as the data of the Report show, the agri-food sector held up. Now it is our duty to bet on the restart and relaunch the whole sector, made up of many men and women who have never backed down but have continued to work to allow Italy to keep its eating habits intact ".
Under the supervision of the Inspectorate for Quality Protection and Fraud Repression, the national quality chains have in fact continued their production, recording, in these four months: 3,3 million branded ham legs; 8 million trays of ham; 3,9 million branded cheeses and 13,7 million kg of grated cheese; about 2,6 million liters of DO / IG oil; about 26 million Modena balsamic vinegar; 1,1 million kg of rice, 7,7 million kg of DO / GI fruit and vegetables, 6,7 million kg of pasta.
In the wine sector, 5,8 million hectoliters of quality wine were certified in the four months of February-May, therefore in full pandemic, the equivalent of over 773 million bottles. Prosecco, in its three denominations, was the most certified wine: 1,2 million hectoliters, the equivalent of about 160 million bottles.
Not even the organic supply chain has stopped: since 1 February 2020, 2.068 new operators have entered the system of organic agriculture for an area of 71.921 hectares.
In detail, 66% of the inspection activity was carried out in the wine, oil and dairy sectors, but also in the meats, eggs, pasta, rice and, in general, the prepackaged food products, all foods that have undergone a rush consumption during the health emergency.
As for monitoring the eCommerce channels, which recorded a large increase in accesses in the four months of February - May, the ICQRF made 558 interventions for the removal, on Alibaba, Amazon and eBay, of irregular insertions of agri-food products.
On the sanctions front, in the period February - May 2020, the highest percentage of sanctions imposed by the ICQRF regards the wine sector (286 measures issued, equal to over 55% of the total), then that of agri-food production with registered denomination with little more 24% of the total (equal to 125 ordinances), and finally with 51 measures and about 10% of the total, the sector concerning the labeling of food products.
The Report can be found at the following link: https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/15523