Food and product fraud charges in Italy
Italy treats the misdescription of food and manufactured goods as criminal rather than merely regulatory, and it enforces it more intensively than almost anywhere else. Delivering goods different from those agreed, selling food presented as something it is not, and misusing a protected designation are three separate offences, and the exposure reaches importers and distributors as well as producers.
The offences
| Offence | Conduct | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Fraud in commerce | Delivering goods different in origin, quality or quantity from those agreed | Art. 515 Criminal Code |
| Sale of non-genuine foodstuffs | Presenting food as genuine when it is not | Art. 516 |
| Misleading marks on goods | Selling products with marks liable to deceive as to origin | Art. 517 |
| Protected designations | Counterfeiting or misuse of geographical indications | Art. 517-quater |
| Adulteration affecting health | Far heavier brackets | Art. 440 and following |
| Liability of the entity | Proceedings against the company | Legislative Decree 231/2001 |
The first three are minor offences in Italian terms, which has a consequence worth knowing: several of them can be resolved by payment, closing the matter without a conviction. That option is often available and rarely raised.
Origin is the recurring issue
The great majority of these prosecutions concern origin rather than safety. Raw material from one country processed in another and sold as Italian; a designation used for a product that does not meet the specification; labelling that is technically accurate and cumulatively misleading.
Italian enforcement in this area is systematic, carried out by specialised units, and it reaches foreign companies that place goods on the Italian market as readily as domestic ones. A distributor who did not produce anything can still be charged, because the offences target the placing on the market and not only the manufacture.
What the defence works on
- Whether the description is actually false. These cases turn on specifications, technical files and the exact wording used, and they are won on documents.
- Who was responsible. Duties are allocated by function across the chain, and a distributor's obligations are not those of a producer.
- The checks carried out. Supplier verification, certificates, testing and traceability records establish whether the failure was culpable.
- Whether health was engaged. Offences affecting public health are in a different bracket entirely, and the distinction has to be defended.
- Resolution by payment, where the offence is a minor one and no harm or concrete danger resulted.
The seizure is the commercial problem
As in other economic cases, the immediate impact is not the charge but the seizure: goods, production lines and sometimes accounts, ordered during the investigation. The deadline to apply for review is ten days from execution, and an application to release what is needed to continue operating is granted more often than it is made.
The framework is in financial crime investigations in Italy, and the position of the entity in regulatory prosecutions.
Frequently asked questions
Is mislabelling a crime in Italy?
Yes. Delivering goods different from those agreed, selling food presented as genuine when it is not, and using misleading marks are all criminal offences.
Can a distributor be charged?
Yes. The offences target the placing of goods on the market, so importers and distributors are exposed alongside producers.
Can the case be closed without a conviction?
Several of these are minor offences that can be extinguished by payment where no harm or concrete danger resulted. It is often available and rarely raised.
What about protected designations?
Counterfeiting or misusing a protected geographical indication is a separate offence with its own provision, enforced systematically.
If goods have been seized or an inspection has taken place
The technical file and the supplier documentation decide these cases, and the ten-day clock is already running. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege.