Fake organic! Very recent ruling from the Supreme Court regarding commercial fraud

The consumption of organic products has not been affected by the crisis and indeed the sector has witnessed dizzying growth throughout Europe because the conscious user is increasingly attentive to environmentally friendly production processes and the consumption of healthy products.

Together with North America, Europe is the main market for organic foods, with annual growth of 10-15%. In Italy, there are 55,494 companies included in the certification system for organic farming, a figure that is constantly growing. In 2015, the area cultivated according to the organic method in Italy amounted to 1,387,913 hectares, with an overall increase of 5.8% compared to the previous year. As a percentage of the total cultivated area in Italy, organic farming therefore reaches 11.2% of the national UAA (used agricultural area). The regions in which the greatest number of organic operators are present are Sicily (9,660), Calabria (8,787), Puglia (6,599). Over 45% of the total Italian operators are concentrated in these regions.

In order for a product to be labeled as organic, it must obtain certification and guarantee from the Control Bodies recognized by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (or by the EU, if they are foreign). All operators in the sector along the entire production chain (agricultural companies, processing, packaging and distribution companies) must be subjected to control by one of the bodies recognized by the Ministry.

Organic agriculture is governed by Regulation 834/07, by the Application Regulation 889/08 and by subsequent amendments and additions, which define the production standards, the control system, the characteristics of the labeling and the methods of import from non-EU countries. EU.

A processed product (e.g. a biscuit) can be labeled as "organic" if at least 95% of the ingredients that compose it are of organic agricultural origin. However, there is no real organic market, either at a local or national level, intended as a meeting place, even virtual, for operators and for negotiation within which a reference price arises. This is one of the great problems of the sector, since the absence of precise references, guarantees and mutual control mechanisms always brings with it more or less evident phenomena of exploitation, especially at the expense of the producers. The real organic market today is still to be found in small squares at a local level or in constant contact with a small group of loyal consumers.

Generally the cost of organic products is identified with the fee that the control body requires for certification. However, a significant cost also concerns the time required to compile the registers and the constant commitment relating to the search for technical means or the prevention and monitoring of parasites. The cost can vary from a few hundred euros, for smaller companies, without transformation activities and with crops that are simple to control, up to several thousand euros when the aforementioned parameters become increasingly significant and complex.

However, not everything labeled as organic is so. It's called Matrina, the fake organic product found by the Guardia di Finanza at the end of 2014 and the subject of the Haunted Apple operation and of investigations and seizures throughout Italy. 366 Italian commercial businesses are said to have purchased fertilizer intended for organic farming, mostly coming from China and from India. Passed off as natural and suitable for organic and biodynamic agriculture, analyzes revealed it to be dangerous for health and not compliant with the laws. 

With the sentence filed on August 24th n. 35387/2016, the Court of Cassation established that the distribution of conventional products illicitly classified as organic constitutes the crime of fraud on the market, a case which exists even when the selling price of the "counterfeit" product is the same as the traditional one and does not 'it is a direct economic gain.

The Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the sole director and de facto manager of a fruit and vegetable company that purchased oranges from another limited company. and put them on the market after labeling them. This very passage had ended up in the crosshairs of the investigators. Following a search of the premises of the company headed by the two defendants, the labels of a company, which later became a plaintiff, were seized, certifying the organic production of numerous packs of oranges grown with conventional methods.

Milano, August 26th 2016.

Avv. Giovanni Babino