Consumer

Authentico, the real Made in Italy thanks to an innovative App

May 31, 2018

Authentico is a project created to help consumers on the planet recognize, find and buy products
Made in Italy
authentic. An innovative service aimed at mitigating the damage – to consumers and the national agri-food supply chain – related to the phenomenon of the
Italian sounding

.
That is, the illicit evocation of Italian-ness on products that have nothing to do with the Bel Paese.

Italian sounding, establishment location, traceability

The phenomenon of

Italian sounding

on agri-food products is motivated by the growing global demand for food and beverages
Made in Italy
. According to inevitably rough estimates, at least 20 percent of consumers worldwide attribute distinctive qualities to Italian food products over those of other origins, and 30 percent believe they can recognize the former thanks to the Italian flag on the label. Too bad that in many cases this expectation is betrayed by counterfeiting-explicit and implicit-that generates a turnover grossly estimated at least 90 billion euros. (1)

The imitation of Italian agri-food products, moreover, is set to grow because of the substantial abatement of protection regimes that the European Commission has agreed to in the various trade partnership agreements pursued in recent years. Such as CETA and JEFTA, to name the most glaring examples. Added to this are the broad derogations for generic geographical indications-as opposed to the duty to indicate the different origin or provenance of the primary ingredient- granted by Brussels in EU Regulation 2018/775.

La

traceability

of products
, and the availability of related news to global consumers, is therefore the guarantee that all honest traders should strive to ensure, albeit in legal contexts that leave ample room for forgery and imitation. The label indication of the establishment headquarters of production-which this site has long advocated as mandatory (2)-still remains, even when adopted on a voluntary basis, a useful basic safeguard in which consumers can rely anywhere. Since its falsification can be punished everywhere as food fraud, and its omission can be understood as lack of transparency about the real origin of products. (3) In any case, the use of reliable technologies also offers greater assurance against fraudulent assumptions.

According to a recent Nomisma research, 74 percent of consumers surveyed say they are willing to recognize a higher price for food products, provided they are 100 percent Italian. This circumstance helps to understand the spread of the
Italian sounding
, where it is estimated that as many as 2 out of 3 products presented on the global market as
Made in Italy
are nothing more than imitations.

Authentico, a free App for global consumers

The Authentico project

is based on a digital platform and an

App
free of charge that are the fruit of two years of research, developed by managers, entrepreneurs and professionals. With the goal of developing a simple system,

consumer-friendly

, able to verify-thanks to the bar code placed on product packaging-the actual Italian origin of the product.

The use of the App is very simple. Simply proceed to scan the bar code on the label of the food on offer. To get immediate feedback from Mario, the friendly character from Authentico, who will raise his thumb if the authenticity of the reference is confirmed. Thumbs up to real Parmigiano Reggiano DOC, thumbs down to Parmesan, Parmesello and other horrible imitations.

Authentico’s innovation
stands out,
first and foremost
, for a ‘bottom-up’ approach. The information directly involves consumers who, as aggrieved parties, are the first to be involved in reports of imitated or counterfeit products. A second appreciable innovation is that no additional elements-such as RFID codes, holograms, new proprietary codes-are required to be added on the packages, etc. – that have previously hindered the effective deployment of product identification systems. Indeed, many operators tend to be reluctant to change labels, as well as to adopt relatively expensive technologies.

Operators can also communicate, through the App, the values of their products and related supply chains. With a free and easy access tool that lends itself to the storytelling more authentic and genuine. (4) Finally, the App also satisfies those looking for a real Italian restaurant abroad. To date, Authentico has already verified and registered about 3,000 restaurants and pizzerias in major cities around the world.

The Italian Sounding Observatory promoted by Authentico, based on data collected from consumers around the world, finally publishes a semi-annual Report on the Italian sounding phenomenon. With a ranking of the most imitated Italian food products in the world.

Carlotta Totaro Fila and Dario Dongo

Notes

Federalimentare estimates, 2018
The Gentiloni government has in fact adopted Legislative Decree 145/18, which is designed to require mandatory disclosure of the location of the establishment (of production or, if different, of packaging) on the labels of food produced and/or packaged in Italy and destined for the domestic market. However, this decree is unfortunately illegal, as it was not notified to Brussels in accordance with the rules. See in this regard the article devoted to the topic
It is worth mentioning that ‘origin of the product,’ where the goods have been made in more than one national territory, means the country where its last substantial processing took place. Based on the EU Customs Code (which is also referred to in the reg. EU 1169/11) and the Agreement Establishing the WTO (
World Trade Organization
)
It is worth mentioning that Apps, like any other food-related consumer information tools, also fall under the scope of reg. EU 1169/11. This implies a responsibility for operators to provide truthful (therefore demonstrable), transparent, and non-misleading news