- 26/01/2016
- Posted by: Marta
- Categories: Insights, News
La commercial fraud (article 515 of the criminal code), as is well known to the experts, is the crime that corresponds to the civil law offense of the so-called 'aliud pro alio'. That is, the sale of a product (or service) that is objectively different, and of lesser value, than the one promised. It is evident in the sale of counterfeit foods, but it can also be configured in some atypical cases, such as those mentioned below:
1) Legal name, non-conformity
One of the most frequent cases of fraud on the market is that of the sale of foods that do not respond - in the composition and method of preparation, in the chemical-physical characteristics or in the organoleptic properties - to the criteria defined by specific regulations (European or national) for use of the legal name used instead. The most common hypothesis is that of blends of virgin and refined olive oils sold as extra-virgin, but the case history can extend to some baked confectionery products and charcuterie products that do not meet the requirements established, respectively, in the decrees. interministerials of 22.7.05 and 21.9.05.
2) Themission of ingredients from the mandatory list
The incompleteness of the ingredient list itself constitutes a specific administrative violation. However, aa commercial fraudo, where theomission result functional to attribute a higher value to the product than the actual one. All the more so when this is accompanied by false declarations of the type 'free from ...' (e.g. without preservatives, in a product that instead contains them without however mentioning them in the list).
It should also be emphasized another risk of criminal offense linked to the incompleteness of the list of ingredients, which occurs in the event of failure to mention the presence of ingredients. allergensci (injury or manslaughter, in the event of a pathological reaction of vulnerable consumers).
3) Mention on the label of ingredients other than those used. Ditto cs
It is worth noting that, in all cases in which the 'perceived value' of the ingredient falsely reported on the label is greater than that of the various raw materials used, the proof of the crime of fraud is almost invincible. An example above all, the false declaration of use of extra virgin olive oil in a baked product instead made with pomace oil, or oil seeds.
4) Icharacterizing ingredient, failed or mendacious declaredquantity action
For over twenty years, there has been an obligation to specify the quantity of the ingredient that characterizes the product as it is mentioned on the label or advertising (ex. truffle in a truffle flavored oil) or generally associated with the product category (e.g. almonds in nougat).
Failure indication of the quantity of the characterizing ingredient (to be expressed in percentage terms with respect to the total quantity of raw materials introduced) is punished with a specific administrative sanction. Unless, as in the case of a false declaration or in the case set out below, the intention to defraud the consumer can be deduced, by offering goods of actually lower value.
5) Ingredient list, seevariation of the weight order
If the ingredients are not reported in faithful decreasing order of weight - in particular, when from this derives a false one rappresentaction of greater value the composition of the food - the crime of fraud in commerce can be configured.
Also in this case, as in the one referred to in point 2 above, the objective discrepancy of the values - weight and economic - constitutes proof almost invincible.
6) Fallacious origin
There are recurring complaints about the crime of commercial fraud in relation to untrue geo-referencing. In this regard, however, it is necessary to keep the concepts of origin of the food (i.e. the place where the product has undergone its last substantial transformation) e provenance of raw materials.
The FARE team ('Food & Agriculture Requirements') integrates the technical-scientific skills with those of food law for the express purpose of guaranteeing a scrupulous analysis dei risks related to the non-compliance of Labels and advertising.
Dario Dongo
