GIFT’s(Great Italian Food Trade) report of irregularities in Monge-branded pet food labels has spurred the company president’s industrious repentance. Who took responsibility for the mistakes made and took immediate action to remedy them. An exemplary gesture on the part of Domenico Monge, to whom goes attestation of esteem from the writer. This is the mark of a true Leader who sets the standard in Italy in this way. Chapeau!
Monge, Great Italian Food Trade’s report to the Antitrust Authority.
GIFT, Great Italian Food Trade
, has extended to the
pet food
its activities to investigate the legality and fairness of business practices. After analyzing and exposing serious irregularities in the labels of Ultima brand dog and cat food
, of the Spanish giant Affinity, a number of references from the
leader
Italian industry leader, Monge SpA.
The analysis looked at three lines of wet and dry pet food under the Monge brand:
– Complete dog food (bites, wet in pouch) Grill line‘Cod‘,‘Beef‘, ‘Salmon‘,‘Chicken and turkey‘,‘Lamb and vegetables‘,‘Pork‘,
– Complete dog food (kibble, ‘dry food‘) ‘Bwild Boar‘,
– Complete cat food (kibble, ‘dry food‘) ‘Le Chat, Chicken and rice indoor‘.
The critical issues found were numerous. Feed labeling was misleading in relation to images, text, product and ingredient names. With frequent omissions of QUIDs (‘Quantity of Ingredients Declaration’)– in relation to characterizing ingredients that were referred to in special claims – and prohibited health claims.
The Antitrust Authority.
(AGCM, c.d.
Antitrust
) was therefore concerned about the matter. With a report which the writer has also notified some large-scale retail groups (GDO). In view of the distributor’s responsibility to ensure full compliance with applicable regulations of all products it markets. Be they food, feed and
pet food
or other consumer products (so-called FMCG,
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
). (1)
Monge, the brand of a true leader
The ‘
meticulous scrutiny’
of labels by GIFT, as acknowledged by Monge itself, produced the best effects that could have been expected. The group’s president acknowledged his responsibilities, reporting that as a result of our notes the label review process ‘received renewed impetus and acceleration’. On the occasion, the group will update the packages against the latest version of the EU Register of Feed Additives (12.3.19) and the regulations that will apply from 1.1.20. (2)
An exemplary response that acknowledges and takes responsibility for the multiple deceptions and violations of the law, instantly taking action to remedy them but also to align product labels in advance of the regulations that will apply from 2020.
‘ln regard to other nonconformities. detected, it is emphasized that the reference is in these days the subject of deep and comprehensive review activities, in order to amend any non-compliance, renewing and accelerating the commitment to compliance, and renewing the commitment and efforts that our company operates to pursue the highest levels of quality and protection of the welfare of pets.’ (Domenico Monge, PEC at Great Italian Food Trade, 12.3.19)
A lesson to be shared
The decision made
by the ownership of Italy’s first industrial group in the pet food sector constitutes
first and foremost
a victory for consumAtors and legality, which our company benefit Wiise Srl (owner of the GIFT sites, Great Italian Food Trade, and FARE
) humbly aspires to protect. But above all, it is a great example and lesson, for Italian and international industry. Repentance is undoubtedly the wisest solution to adopt in crisis management. As problems recur, all the more so in complex organizations that handle multitudes of high-turnover references. But it is the timeliness of a proactive response that distinguishes a
leader
.
A noteworthy precedent dates back to February 2010, when 2.3 million Toyota cars were recalled for a brake system problem that caused even fatal accidents. At the most difficult time in the history of an industry founded on 1933 Akio Toyoda – president of the industrial giant of the same name – took all responsibility upon himself, publicly pledging to solve the problems identified immediately.
‘Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick.
I regret that this has resulted in the safety issues described in the recalls we face today, and I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced.’ (Akio Toyoda)
The wish
and the warning
are now addressed to all those who continue to deny the evidence of the facts, trying to minimize them or even threaten those who promote legality with activism and free information
. May the lesson also be of help to authorities who have so far neglected to supervise crucial sectors, such as food and pet food. For the protection of consumers and the markets of which they are protagonists, indeed true masters.
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Distribution has primary responsibility over MDD (Distributor Brand) products and concurrent responsibility over IDM (Industria Di Marca) products. See ‘General Food (and Feed) Law‘ (reg. EC 178/02, Art. 17), ‘Food Information Regulation‘ (reg. EU 1169/11, Art. 8.3), ‘General Product Safety Directive‘ (GPSD, dir. 2001/95/EC, Art. 5.2)
(2) See reg. EU 2017/2279, 2018/1903
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
