Page 74 - Rassegna 2022-1_inserto

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Il presente lavoro si prefigge l’obiettivo di descrivere, seguendo il rigoroso criterio
della scansione cronologica, i principali eventi critici accaduti in Europa che hanno sensi-
bilizzato e sollecitato le agenzie internazionali di polizia Europol e Interpol e i competenti
uffici comunitari, Dg Sante e Dg Agri, della Commissione Europea a dotarsi di tale stru-
mento di coordinamento dei controlli.

The delocalization of the food factories in geographical areas where labor costs are lower than in
Italy, together with the availability of raw materials and semi-finished products at low cost, are the main
factors that have contributed to the expansion of the criminal phenomenon of food fraud at the interna-
tional level.
Analyzing the reports that summarize the results of control activities carried out by the police and
government agencies in Europe in recent years, it is clear that there has been a significant increase in so-
called commercial fraud, “aliud pro alio”, national and transnational.
On the contrary, fraud against health, i.e. linked to the adulteration of food, seems to be just a
memory of the distant past, also thanks to a particularly effective European legislation that has introduced
the precautionary principle in the food sector by requiring agri-food operators to prepare adequate models
of risk prevention.
An effective contribution has been provided on the front of the contrast to transnational food frauds
by the network of international police cooperation, better known as “Opson Network”, which has always
provided in recent years an accurate and timely analysis of the criminal phenomenon by sharing the expe-
riences of the various police forces and government agencies dependent on the States (over 70) that have
joined the operational protocols.
In this regard, the present work aims to describe, following the strict criterion of chronological scan-
ning, the main critical events occurred in Europe which have raised awareness and urged the international
police agencies Europol and Interpol and the competent Community offices, DG Sante and DG Agri, of
the European Commission to adopt this tool of coordination of controls.
!

SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa generale. - 2. La nascita del diritto alimentare in UE: la Food Law. -
3. La nascita del diritto agrolimentare in UE: Agri-Food Law. - 4. La nascita del
progetto Opson di cooperazione internazionale di polizia. - 5. Il progetto Opson
e la cooperazione internazionale di polizia. - 6. La cooperazione transnazionale
europea e l’assistenza amministrativa (EU Food Fraud Network). - 7. Conclusioni.

1. Premessa generale
Le straordinarie opportunità di sviluppo economico del comparto agroa-
limentare scaturite dalla nascita del “villaggio globale” e la crescente domanda
di beni immateriali connessi al cibo, quali sostenibilità ambientale e legame con

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