Italy Approves Sweeping Law to Fight Food Fraud

Italy on April 15 gave final approval to a sweeping food and agriculture protection bill that creates new crimes, tightens penalties tied to company revenue and expands controls across the supply chain, in a move aimed at curbing fraud, misleading labels and counterfeit protected products.

The measure, approved after an earlier Senate vote in November, is one of the most significant food-safety and anti-fraud laws passed in this legislature. It introduces a clearer criminal framework for conduct that prosecutors have often struggled to address with existing rules, while also strengthening administrative sanctions and coordination among inspectors.

At the center of the reform is the new offense of food fraud, which targets the sale of products that are not genuine or that come from a different origin than the one declared. The law also creates a separate offense for the trade of foods with false signs, a category designed to catch misleading labels, packaging and other indications that can confuse consumers about what they are buying.

The bill adds specific aggravating circumstances as well. Among them is “agropiracy,” a term used for organized and systematic illegal activity in the food sector. When that aggravating factor applies, penalties increase. Lawmakers said the goal was to hit more complex fraud schemes harder, especially those run on a large scale.

The law also sharpens protections for geographical indications such as Dop and Igp products, which are central to Italy’s food economy and exports. Penalties for counterfeiting those designations are now tougher both criminally and financially. The government has argued that stronger protection is needed because the sector is worth more than €20 billion and plays a major role in Italian exports.

Another major change is the link between sanctions and company turnover. Under the new system, fines are meant to be more proportional to the size of the business, replacing a structure that often treated small operators and large groups too similarly. Officials said this should make penalties more effective against bigger companies that could otherwise absorb fixed fines as a cost of doing business.

To improve enforcement, the law creates a coordination body for inspections. The aim is to reduce overlap among authorities and make checks more efficient along the chain from production to distribution. The reform also strengthens traceability requirements, with tighter rules on how products are identified and monitored.

One provision targets plant-based products that use dairy terms improperly. The law limits the use of the word “milk” for non-dairy items unless it is accompanied by clear indications, with sanctions that can reach a share of company revenue. Supporters say the rule is meant to prevent consumer confusion; critics have long argued over how far such naming restrictions should go.

The wine sector also gets new tools against fraud. The law reinforces labeling and identification systems for bottled wine, including broader voluntary use of the tricolor strip already tested on Prosecco bottles. The measure extends that antifraud marking to all Dop and Igp wines on a voluntary basis, with the goal of making certified products easier to recognize throughout distribution.

For buffalo-milk production, the bill introduces digital monitoring of milk movements to help prevent evasive practices. It also calls for extraordinary inspections and laboratory checks on product origin. In fisheries, sanctions are revised so they better reflect the amount caught and environmental impact.

The law further requires that seized food products still fit for consumption be donated to charitable or local organizations rather than discarded whenever possible. Lawmakers presented that change as both practical and socially useful.

The next challenge will be implementation. Authorities will now have to turn the new rules into day-to-day enforcement against fraud in a sector that remains one of Italy’s most exposed to counterfeiting, false labeling and disputes over origin.