Page 206 - Supplemento 2-2016 (ENG)

gian carlo caselli

to food farming crimes. This is an important provision as it proves a clear awa-
reness, a new culture highlighting the necessity to safeguard the consumer’s
health and the regular working order of a virtuous economic cycle.

Finally, I’d like to draw your attention on the fact that adulteration techni-
ques have highly developed. A typical example is in the sector of meat where,
together with the traditional tools, the creation of new means of investigation
has become necessary in order to prove the truth. Just like in the doping testing
procedures used in sport where judicial authorities can search and verify the
DNA, the project of reform in the food farming industry provides for the
same methods. These procedures caused some “lively” reactions, let’s call them
that way, from those who clearly were not so hostile to frauds.

Allow me to say something banal which we cannot ignore: this leads to the
end of my speech. Even the best law in the world (I’m not sure whether this
will be considered positive or negative); to all of us members of the Panel,
where decisions were made jointly (and this seemed a good thing), as I was
saying: even the best law in the world has no value if it hasn’t got legs to walk
on, and its legs are first of all the supervision.

From the “Rapporto Agromafie” which has reached its 4th Edition
(Issued by Eurispes, Osservatorio sulla criminalità nell’agricoltura e sul sistema
agroalimentare and Coldiretti) it is highlighted the positive point that our
Country can be proud of having the most effective control procedures compa-
red to any other part of Europe, thanks to the law enforcement, Carabinieri
and State Forestry Department above all (of course there are flaws but they can
be uncovered by means of adequate controls). Controls are working but they
must work even better: this is the first leg.

The other fundamental leg is the trial: if the trial doesn’t work properly;
if reaching the final decision requires so many years, with an ever imminent
prescription which puts in danger the whole proceedings then, even the best
law in the world runs the risk of resulting pointless.

This is what cannot happen if the reform on food farming offences (fol-
lowing the reform on environmental crimes which, in my opinion, is extremely
positive) has to give the results that we all expect from such reform.

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