Pet food and bins. THE notifications of Great Italian Food Trade to some groups of the large-scale retail trade, on the case of products'Ultima'by Affinity Petcare SA, collect the first feedback. There GDO more careful it takes action for the protection of its consumers. Waiting for news fromAntitrust, in turn interested of the affair.
Pet food outlaw, the role of distribution
Great Italian Food Trade reported irregularities on the label of branded dog and cat feeds repeatedlyUltima'. claim illegitimate nutritional, images depicting fruit and vegetables present in negligible quantities and various other violations of the regulations in force. (1)
Labels must be transparent and they must never mislead consumers. This applies to food products, as well as to foods intended for pets. (2) All the more so when we consider that the attention paid to our four-legged friends involves almost comparable outlays, with a non-negligible impact on daily expenses.
'The labeling, advertising and presentation of food or feed, including their shape, appearance or packaging, the packaging materials used, the way the food or feed is arranged, the context in which it is displayed and the information made available about it by any means, must not derive deceiving consumers' (EC reg. 178/02, art. 16).
The responsibility of the distributor it is therefore crucial. Since it participates substantially in the value chain and has tools (such as technical data sheets and certificates of analysis) that are not accessible to consumers but are essential for the necessary verification of the legitimacy of the products placed on the market. And it is able to promptly prevent or interrupt the sale of those that do not meet the legal requirements. (3)
Affinity 'Ultima'. GIFT notifications, to the GDO and to the ASLs
Affinity Pet Care SA is a Spanish giant on a global scale, with a turnover of € 305 million, ranking seventh on the European pet food market. (4) But the leader in sales it does not offer a good example of respect for the rules, as it should. At least in Italy, where branded products'Ultima'are ubiquitous and yet have serious irregularities.
The health authorities which is responsible for checking the labels of the petfood they appear to be occupied elsewhere, as the market is overflowing with misleading commercial information. So we started from 'Ultima'and we will continue, to promote the legality and protection of ConsumAttori in this' no man's land' where 30 out of 40 labels - in the recent study of the University of Padua - are outlawed.
Great Italian Food Trade thus launched a new course of notifications of irregularities to distribution operators and, for information, to the local health authorities.
The times and methods of reaction among other things, offer interesting insights into the effectiveness of quality andcustomer care'of the various groups of the large-scale retail trade (large-scale retail trade) interviewed so far:
1) Hyper Montebello, Finiper group, is the first for effectiveness. Having acknowledged our report, after a few days he communicated the decision to suspend the sale of the product as a precaution. A proactive intervention that we hope will teach the GDO,
2) Coop Italy e PAM Panorama, on an equal footing, stand out for the timeliness of the response. Within a couple of hours, the two large chains announced that they had immediately called a meeting with the purchasing department (Coop Italia) and a direct ruling from Affinity (PAM). Both underlining that, in the absence of adequate feedback in a short time, they will suspend the sale of the pet food in question,
3) Esselunga, Auchan and Carrefour they are the very last to have collected our report. We await answers, updates will follow,
4) Familiarize it on the other hand, it is the first distributor to have received the notification, taking care, however, not to provide a reply. In the continuing silence, the competent ASL was also urged, so far in vain.
The carousel is over, each must assume their responsibilities. In the petfood like in food & drink. Who produces and labels, who sells and promotes, who controls or omits the documents of their office. Rien ne va plus.
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) Cf. reg. CE 767/09, legislative decree 26/2017. More information on https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/approfondimenti_1/mangimi-le-sanzioni-per-violazione-del-regolamento-767-2009
(2) See reg. CE 767/09, art. 13
(3) Responsibilities on unsafe feeds are the same as those on food safety, already in reg. CE 178/02 (see articles 15 and 20, in comparison with articles 14 and 19). To learn more about the responsibilities of the distributor, see also https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/le-responsabilità-della-gdo, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/responsabilità-del-distributore-approfondimenti, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/responsabilità-amministrativa-d-impresa-nella-filiera-alimentare
(4) 2017 data, source www.petb2b.it
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
