It took all the determination of Italian agri-food cooperatives to win the battle in Europe over "virus free", the certificate to be affixed to food products arriving from Italy, which should have certified the absence of contamination. A brand to be affixed to everything, without which trucks, platforms and containers would get stuck. There will be no need, because the Commission has established explanatory guidelines that will not block transport. Fresh agricultural products from all regions travel on lorries and lorries. With the approved document, the Union avoided a serious own goal in a very delicate phase for the circulation and marketing of what is grown or made in thousands of small and medium-sized companies.
The guidelines concern borders and therefore go in the right direction to protect the health of citizens, but even more the industrial sectors. The opinion of the CIA-Agricoltori Italiani was positive, seeing the large turnover linked to organic crops and the movement of workers threatened. In particular, seasonal and cross-border workers widely employed in Italian companies that challenge international markets with sustainable supply chains.
The case arose when some international importers requested additional declarations and documents to certify the goodness of genres from Italy. A certification immediately deemed illegitimate by agricultural organizations, already worried by drops in production and sales, despite the Made in Italy campaigns. Seen as a discrimination against our economy, Giorgio Mercuri, president of the Agri-Food Cooperative Alliance comments today: "the guidelines adopted by the Commission respond to our requests and guarantee continuity of supplies and deliveries throughout Europe". No goods can be considered infected, in short, since food is not a vehicle of contagion of Covid19. The Italian determination on the " virus free " was based, moreover, on a positive opinion of the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) which had escaped the Italian competitors. Possible? Intertwined interests. It is important that Italy's concerns have made inroads into the Commission, perhaps due to a different consideration of its political representation. It will, however, be useful to monitor, having suspicion of organized traps.
