Consumer

Sanctions reg. EU 1169/2011, the d.lgs. 231/2017

February 9, 2018

In the Official Gazette 8.2.18 the legislative decree

231/2017

. Laying down penalty rules for violations of EU Regulation 1169/11 – Food Information Regulation – and Directive 91/2011/EU, so-called batch directive. (1) Effective as of May 9, 2018, after two and a half years of impunity.

The analysis of the sanctions decree reg. EU 1169/2011 has already been offered on this site with a trilogy of articles, respectively dedicated to:

–

scope, responsibilities,

sanctions

of a general nature

For omissions or inaccuracies of information. Administrative fines range from 1,000 to 24,000 euros, with a peak of 40,000 euros for displaying for sale food subject to an expiration date as of its next day. The penalty system, it should be noted, must also be applied to distance sales.

Two important clarifications, fines can be decreased by up to one-third against micro-enterprises (less than 2 million euros in turnover and less than ten employees),

–

public establishments and restaurants, food sold in bulk and pre-wrapped, vending machines, lotto

. The omission, generality or incompleteness of information about the presence of each allergen in each food or dish for sale or service can cost dearly, from 3,000 to 24,000 euros.

The decree also specifies the duty to notify the patron in writing when a food has been thawed

.

–

competent authorities and procedures

. The key players are the health administration

and the Central Institute for Quality Protection and Fraud Repression of Food and Agricultural Products (

ICQRF

, without detracting from the other authorities vested with official public control).

‘Illibate’ operators are entitled, for the first time only, to a prior warning. The first pass, but adjust the information. Otherwise, and in every case to follow, it is sanction. To be reduced by 30 percent when paying within 5 days after service of the dispute report.

An obscene de facto amnesty is finally granted to products bearing labels ‘not in accordance with this decree‘. Which will be able to escape sanction as long as they are labeled before its enactment. Although contrary to a European regulation published 7 years ago (!).

Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) Cf.

http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=2018-02-08&atto.codiceRedazionale=18G00023&elenco30giorni=true