Italy Cracks Down on Synthetic Foods and Misleading Plant-Based Labels

Following a lengthy debate on the draft law (DDL S.651), both the House of Representatives and the Senate approved Law No 172 of 1 December 2023 (“Law 172/2023”). This law, published on the same date in the Official Gazette, came into effect on 16 December 2023.

Law 172/2023 introduces a significant change to Italian food legislation by prohibiting the production and sale of synthetic foods and feeds. These are defined as “foods or feeds constituted of, isolated from, or produced from cell cultures or tissues deriving from vertebrate animals”. The law’s specific restrictions encompass:

The Italian legislature based these prohibitions on the precautionary principle per Article 7 of Regulation EC No 178/2002. Based on the draft law’s explanatory report, the application of the precautionary principle stems from the “safety” aspects in connection with so-called cultivated meat. According to the report, these products are purportedly low in nutritional value. Moreover, it notes that the research on this category of foods is still in its early stages, and therefore there is a lack of certainty regarding the potential impact of their consumption on human health. It should be noted that these products fall into the category of “ultra-processed” foods, and their production would necessitate a substantial amount of energy. Additionally, the production process itself would promote the use of “mono-cultures”, as these products are derived from plant proteins.

Law 172/2023 also includes an additional prohibition on the use of terminology referring to meat and fish (plant-based meat and fish analogs) for the production and marketing within Italy of processed products containing exclusively plant proteins. More specifically, the prohibition applies to:

The aforementioned measure does not apply when animal proteins predominantly constitute a product that also contains plant proteins, provided that consumers are not misled regarding the composition of the food product. The prohibition on using names traditionally associated with animal proteins will come into effect upon the publication of the relevant decree by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forests (MASAF). This decree will include a blacklist of the disputed designations. As stipulated in Article 5 of Law 172/2023, the said decree should be published within sixty days from the coming into force of the law (ie, by 14 February 2024).

In line with Article 3 of Law 172/2023, this decree aims to protect the national livestock heritage, recognising its significant cultural, social, economic, and environmental value. It also seeks to provide appropriate support for its advancement while ensuring a high level of protection for human health, consumer interests, and the right to information.

In terms of applicable penalties, unless an act constitutes a criminal offence, food business operators and feed business operators who violate the above prohibitions shall be subject to an administrative fine of a minimum of EUR10,000 up to a maximum of EUR60,000 or 10% of the total annual turnover obtained in the last financial year before the violation, if that amount exceeds EUR60,000. However, the maximum administrative fine cannot exceed EUR150,000. These administrative fines are determined based on:

In addition to the above fines, Law 172/2023 establishes other penalties, including seizure of the unlawful products, and the application of administrative penalties including preclusion from accessing subsidies, grants, financial incentives or other similar funding, provided by the State, other public entities or the European Union for carrying out entrepreneurial activities, for a minimum period of one year and up to a maximum of three years. Additionally, the law allows for the closure of the relevant production facilities as part of the penalties for non-compliance.

Due to its classification as a technical regulation, Law 172/2023 was notified to the European Commission through the Technical Regulations Information System (or TRIS) (notification number 2023/0675/IT). Member States and any stakeholders involved have until 4 March 2024 to comment on the draft law, directly on the TRIS. This EU scrutiny aims to assess whether the justifications for the Italian regulatory initiative are valid and whether any adjustments are necessary.