The government goes on the hunt for “agro-pirates”: in jail also for a lie about the spritz

The government, after the organizers of rave parties and the promoters of roadblocks , has decided to target the "agro-pirates". This is foreseen in the new bill on food safety that was announced last month in the Council of Ministers and that is now being examined, for the final corrections before arriving in Parliament, by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida.

The text, for a change, introduces several new crimes that will enrich the catalog, which has grown enormously in recent years with the arrival of Carlo Nordio in via Arenula, of the criminal laws currently in force in Italy. The text in question, ironically, faithfully reproduces the one developed by the former prosecutor of Palermo Giancarlo Caselli during the government of Matteo Renzi . In 2015, the year of the Expo in Milan dedicated to food, the then Minister of Justice Andrea Orlando (PD) had in fact appointed a Commission, chaired by Caselli, with the aim of rewriting the crimes in the agri-food sector. The need, it was said, was to improve the actions to combat infiltration by criminal organizations in an economic sector that is very important for the country. The Commission finished its work after just over a year, providing for the formulation of new types of crime that would have to be included in a section of the penal code called precisely “Agropiracy”. Also due to the end of the legislature, the text remained in some ministerial drawer and nothing more was heard.

The fact that after a decade a center-right government has decided to adopt a text drawn up by a former " red robe" like Caselli cannot fail to make us smile. How it was possible to resurrect a text that Orlando had sent to the attic is a mystery. But that's how it is. Coming to the new rules, even though the final text is not yet available, the ultimate goal of the reform emerges clearly: prison for all. Prison for those who produce, for those who buy and for those who sell. Among the new crimes, alongside the new " health disaster", which can be configured when following the contamination of water, food or medicines or for the marketing of dangerous or harmful food, medicines or water serious or very serious injuries have occurred, punishable by up to eighteen years of imprisonment, there should also be "trading in food with false signs" , with penalties ranging from six months to five years of imprisonment and fines of up to 100,000 euros. In practice, anyone who markets spritz, a cocktail much loved by Nordio, with a sparkling wine passed off as Prosecco di Conegliano, as provided for by the regulations, is liable to the same punishment as anyone who robs a bank or carries out a kidnapping.

Another newly created criminal offence is also foreseen: agro-piracy carried out by the agro-pirate. The latter is the one who carries out " stable and methodical conduct in organised business contexts in the food sector" . For him, the prison sentence should reach seven years with a fine of up to 100 thousand euros. Penalties are foreseen not only for those who produce the fake product but also for those who sell it. In this case, the prison sentence is up to two years and the fine up to 10 thousand euros. Many accessory sanctions. Those who have been convicted of these crimes will not be able to have access to public contributions and funding.

If the fact is particularly serious, the production plant may be closed for up to twelve months. Permanent closure of the plant finally in cases of repeat offences. The question that the guarantors present in Parliament, starting with the representatives of Forza Italia, should ask themselves when it comes to discussing the text is the following: "Is there a need for these new crimes or are they the classic Manzonian cries? " Raising the penalties, it is understood, has a great media impact and certainly also brings votes. The risk then is that it is just another government advert good for a post on social media.

FROM

Paul Comi