C11 | Evolution of official controls in the field of food safety. E-commerce: regulatory aspects, procedures and critical issues

M. Cofelice¹, G. Graziosi². | ¹ASL Pescara, Servizio Veterinario Area B; ²ASL Pescara, Servizio Veterinario Area B.

Food e-commerce, aided by the pandemic, is becoming increasingly significant, recording exponential growth, so much so that in the future we will view a real transformation in the way we shop, with a marked increase in the purchase of food products on various types of websites rather than in traditional shops/large-scale retail outlets. As emphasised by the European Commission, all forms of distribution need to be controlled, including online commerce. There is a wide range of products available online, from the most common to “free from” (gluten-free or lactose-free) products, with a focus on Italian-made products and novel foods. Purpose. The intention of the Pescara Local Health Authority, and in particular the Veterinary Service, was to implement the provisions of EU Regulation No. 625/2017 (recital 49 and Article 36). Our work, which started as a project and was then institutionalised within the Service (after drawing up internal regulations), went far beyond simply checking labels and therefore how food is presented online (Article 14 of EC Regulation No. 1169/2011), implementing test purchases or mystery shopping of various food products (of animal origin) aimed at chemical and microbiological research. As there are currently no regional guidelines or sampling plans, the research was carried out considering the major hazards found in that specific food matrix (main MTA). Methods. The project was viewed as having an initial experimental phase and a subsequent official phase (both with the issuance of specific resolutions). Those responsible for the procedure were identified through direct identification by the Director of the Service. It was necessary to obtain various equipment, such as prepaid cards (subsequently added to the PayPal circuit), onto which the amount of money necessary for online purchases was loaded, a laptop and a telephone number not traceable to the competent authority, and to create a fictitious account and anonymous email address so as not to reveal the identity of the purchaser. Only at the time of delivery, after written notification (pursuant to Article 36 of EU Regulation No. 625/2017), is the OFA informed of the true identity of the purchaser, while guaranteeing the party's right of defence (counter-assessment/dispute). Results. To date, the results have highlighted non-compliance of both a chemical nature (e.g. presence of undeclared additives) and microbiological nature (e.g. Norovirus in oysters) and, in this regard, penalties have been imposed in addition to reports of commercial and/or health fraud being drawn up. Conclusions. The results achieved show that verifying product suitability, which is more complex than normal inspection activities given the lack of “physical contact”, must be a driving force for implementing this type of control, updating long-established techniques and giving surveillance added value aimed, as always, at protecting consumer health, thus finding an opportunity to renew itself and certainly to show itself ready for new challenges such as the control of foods subject to alerts that may find “new life” in online sales.