THEanalysis of the sanctions decree relating to EU regulation 1169/11 approved on 11.12.17 by the Council of Ministers ends with the examination of competent authorities and procedures.
TITLE IV - Final provisions
Mutual recognition (article 25). The national provisions that integrate the reg. EU 1169/11 they do not apply to food products lawfully manufactured or marketed in other EU and EFTA Member States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) and Turkey. (1)
Competent authorities (Article 26). The Department of the Central Inspectorate for the protection of the quality and repression of fraud of agri-food products (ICQRF) of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MiPAAF) is designated as the competent authority to impose the administrative pecuniary sanctions provided for in the decree.
However, the government has backtracked from the infamous hypothesis - previously ventilated - to exclude the competences of other authorities. (2)
The health authority then maintains a https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/controlli-il-ruolo-dellamministrazione-sanitaria/ in controls and sanctions, as invoked by several parties and confirmed, most recently, in EU regulation 2017/625.
Procedure (Article 27). The ascertainment of violations and the imposition of administrative sanctions follow the criteria established in law 689/81. (3)
In the case of an investigation for the first time against an operator of only 'remediable' violations - in relation to which only a pecuniary administrative sanction is envisaged - the authority is required to resort to a preventive warning. (4)
There is also the possibility of a 30% reduction of the pecuniary administrative sanction, should it be paid within five days of the dispute or notification. (5)
Micro-enterprises (6) can benefit from reductions in the administrative fine of up to half.
Supplies to 'non-profit organizations, for subsequent free transfer to destitute people' are exempt from the penalties provided for by the decree, with the exception of those relating to the expiry date and the indication of allergens.
Finally, the sanctions are not applicable if the foods placed on the market are accompanied by 'adequate written correction of information that does not comply with the provisions of this decree'. (7)
Temporary time (Article 28). 'Foods placed on the market or labeled before the date of entry into force of this decree in deviation from it can be marketed until stocks are exhausted. '
Legislative Decree 109/81, partial repeal (Article 30). The fateful 'labeling decree', already subjected to numerous updates during the 36 years of honorable service, is definitively repealed. Without prejudice to its sole rule which introduced theobligation to mention the location of the establishment on the label of production or packaging of products made in Italy, as recently updated. (8)
Entry into force (Article 31). The 'sanctions decree' will enter into force within 60 days following its publication in the Official Gazette.
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) A style clause, however, without concrete application, given that the rules referred to in Title III of the decree refer to:
- batch code, subject to harmonized rules (Directive 91/2011 / EU),
- vending machines and communities, inevitably subject to the provisions of the decree as they are located in Italy,
- Basic information in B2B sales which must in any case be recorded for the purposes of traceability pursuant to reg. CE 178/02, article 18
(2) The MiPAAF also had to renounce the 'stalks' it had tried to insure in the previous version of the decree. In fact, its article 6.3 provided that 50% of the proceeds of the sanctions would be reallocated for 35% to Mi.PAAF and 15% to Health, 'for the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of the control and supervision activities of aforementioned Ministries'
(3) See law 689/81, the so-called decriminalization law. The sanctions decree refers in particular to Chapter I (administrative sanctions), Sections I (general principles) and II (application)
(4) See law 114/2016, article 1, paragraph 3. 'For violations of the agri-food regulations, for which the application of only the pecuniary administrative sanction is envisaged, the control body in charge, in the event that it ascertains for the first time the existence of remediable violations, warns the interested party to fulfill the violated prescriptions within twenty days from the date of receipt of the formal notice and to eliminate the harmful or dangerous consequences of the administrative offense. By remediable violations we mean formal errors and omissions that involve a mere regularization operation or violations whose harmful or dangerous consequences can be eliminated. In the event of failure to comply with the provisions contained in the notice referred to in this paragraph, within the indicated term, the supervisory body proceeds to make the dispute, pursuant to article 14 of the law of 24 November 1981, n. 689. In this case, the application of article 16 of the aforementioned law no. 689 of 1981’,
(5) See law 116/2014, article 1, paragraph 4. 'For violations of the agri-food regulations for which the application of only the pecuniary administrative sanction is envisaged, if a reduced payment has already been allowed, the sum, determined pursuant to article 16, first paragraph, of the aforementioned law no. 689 of 1981, is reduced by thirty percent if payment is made within five days of the dispute or notification'
(6) Businesses with fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or financial statements of less than € 2 million qualify as micro-enterprises
(7) That is to say in cases of timely re-labeling of products, or correction of signs or registers in cases of sale of bulk and pre-wrapped foods as well as administration
(8) See Legislative Decree 145/2017, in force since 5.4.18. Failure to indicate the location of the plant on products made in Italy, pursuant to the aforementioned decree, is subject to a pecuniary administrative sanction from 2.000 to 15.000 euros
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
