Italian Carabinieri from the Rome unit for agri-food protection have uncovered a scheme involving meat from Eastern European countries, specifically Romania and Hungary, which was being sold on the Italian market and fraudulently presented to customers as high-quality, protected Italian IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) products. The investigation, conducted under the coordination of the Frosinone Public Prosecutor’s Office, has led to five individuals being charged with commercial fraud, document falsification, and trading in dangerous substances. The suspects have been notified of the completion of the preliminary investigation phase.
The meat in question was primarily of ovine origin. The investigation began after anomalies were detected during a series of controls ordered by the Ministry of Agriculture, which had established a special operational coordination task force.
According to the Carabinieri, a slaughterhouse operated by a company in the Frosinone area had slaughtered hundreds of foreign-origin sheep and then marketed the meat to consumers as ‘Abbacchio Romano IGP’. The investigation resulted in the seizure of approximately two tonnes of meat.
Authorities also identified deficiencies in the mandatory health checks on animal carcasses that should have been performed by slaughterhouse operators. The Carabinieri’s investigation found that the fraud was further facilitated by lapses in sanitary controls, which some assigned veterinarians omitted to perform, particularly on batches of foreign meat brought in for slaughter.