A new organic fraud has been discovered in Italy, this time in the rice sector. In Pavia, an investigation by the Guardia di Finanza and the ICQRF brought to light an alleged system through which rice and other cereals were produced using substances not permitted in organic farming and then marketed as “organic”.
The investigation, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Pavia, concerns 14 agricultural companies in the province and led to the preventive seizure of assets worth over 10 million euros. A figure which, according to the investigators, corresponds to the profits considered illicit obtained from the sale of the product at a higher price and from the public contributions received.
Rice grown with products not allowed in organic farming
The investigation started in 2023, also following some reports from FederBio, and concerned the production of organic rice declared by 14 Pavia farms.
From the first checks, according to what was reconstructed by the investigators, an anomalous situation emerged: the quantities of rice declared as organic were not compatible with the extension of land intended for these crops. From here began the investigations that led the investigators to hypothesize the use of pesticides and fertilizers not permitted in organic farming.
During the searches, significant quantities of these products were found, together with documentation deemed useful for reconstructing the contested activities. The investigators would also have collected elements through telephone interceptions.
A further element of the investigation came from laboratory analyses. The technicians examined samples of rice seedlings taken from the companies involved and, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, the results confirmed a situation not compatible with what was declared regarding organic production.
The investigators’ hypothesis is therefore that rice and other cereals were grown with substances not permitted by the organic rules and subsequently marketed as organic products.
It is precisely this alleged difference between the product actually obtained and the one presented on the market that triggered the charges for fraud in the exercise of trade.
Forty thousand tons of fake organic rice
The economic dimensions of the affair are considerable. According to the reconstruction of the Prosecutor’s Office, the companies involved sold around 40,000 tonnes of rice as organic, benefiting from the higher price normally paid to this type of product. The value of the profits that investigators believe to arise from these sales exceeds 9.8 million euros.
To this figure must be added approximately 400,000 euros of public contributions which, according to the accusation, were unduly received through regional rural development tenders linked to the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy.
If the complaints were confirmed, the system would have produced consequences on multiple levels. On the one hand there would be consumers, who would have purchased a product believing it to be organic and therefore paying a higher price without receiving the requested goods.
On the other hand there are farmers who actually produce according to the rules of organic farming. For them, compliance with the regulations entails constraints and costs that would be circumvented by those who instead use prohibited substances but still manage to sell the harvest as organic. The alleged fraud would therefore also risk creating a form of unfair competition within the supply chain itself.
The story also takes on particular relevance for the territory in which it developed. The province of Pavia, and in particular Lomellina, represents a central area for Italian and European rice cultivation. Precisely for this reason the Prosecutor’s Office underlines the importance of the investigation also for the protection of operators who work correctly.
