Once again, the protection of Made in Italy requires tight border controls. In recent days, at the port of Brindisi, a joint operation by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, the Financial Police and the ICQRF Puglia and Basilicata inspectors led to the huge seizure of over 42 tons of tomato puree.
The product, a Bulgarian semi-finished product, was in fact labeled as “Italian origin”, therefore ready to be placed on the market as an authentic Italian product.
The discovery was made during routine checks on vehicles arriving from Greece. Two trucks coming from Bulgaria attracted the attention of inspectors. The transport documentation correctly reported the Bulgarian origin of the tomato puree, but during the physical inspection something wasn’t right: in fact the words “Country of origin – Italy” clearly appeared on the packages, in clear contrast with what was declared.
This was enough to immediately trigger the joint intervention of customs officials, financiers and ICQRF.
Who was the Bulgarian bassata intended for?
The product was directed to two Italian companies (whose names are not known) known for marketing articles declared as obtained from 100% Italian raw materials. If the fraud had been completed, it could have generated illicit profits amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros.
The Financial Police underlines that this fraud:
In addition to deceiving the trust of unsuspecting consumers, it would have yielded hundreds of thousands of euros in illicit profits, potentially constituting damage to public health, as the presence, within the product, of contaminants prohibited by EU legislation cannot be ruled out.
There was therefore also a potential risk to consumer health.
In light of the irregularities found, the officials ordered the seizure of over 42 tons of product and the legal representatives of the recipient companies were reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Brindisi for the crime of false indication of origin, pursuant to article 517 of the Criminal Code and the specific legislation on Made in Italy.
