At Palazzo Comitini the European Conference “Mangio sicuro mangio meglio”

It took place at Palazzo Comitini, seat of the metropolitan city, the European Conference “Mangio sicuro mangio meglio” I eat safe I eat better). The goal of the Congress, entrusted to the Metropolitan City of Palermo from a Representation of the European Commission, aims to make know the importance of “Food Security” to citizens of all Europe, and to promote a manual produced by the Metropolitan City of Palermo on this issue.
The proceedings of the conference were held in two days.

Friday, April 7 there were three working groups:
-Review of the legislation on food safety with Dr. Giovanni Misseri, Vice President of Agronomy and Forest Owner chair of the Business Internationalization And Agri-Food Fraud
Dr. Luigi Ciotta, President ADOC SICILY
Dr. Nunzio Reina, President of Confartigianato Palermo
Dr. Maria Luisa Scatassa IZS
The Holy Dr. Caracappa IZS
The professor. Giovanni Galasso student of OMG and the precautionary principle

The Professor Giuseppina Pisciotta Ordinary Agrarian Law.

-Assets of repression and contrast of fraudulent activities in the field of food safety with
Captain Edgar Peace, Guardia Di Finanza
Dr. Osvaldo Busi, Palermo Municipal Police Commissioner
Dr. Aldo Todaro, Dip. Agricultural and Forestry Sciences Unipa
Captain Vincenzo Castronovo, Commander of Carabinieri, Environmental Protection Forest and Agribusiness
Speaker: Dr. Trifirò, NAS

-Promotion of knowledge and awareness of the importance of the food safety among European citizens with particular reference
t0 young and the elderly people.
With
The professor. Nicola Francesca – Professor of Food Microbiology, agrarian and environmental UNIPA
The professor. Raimondo Gaglio -Ricercatore Department Agricultural Sciences UNIPA
Dott. Giuseppe took Dongarra Coop. Madreterra Hooks
Dr. Donatella Prampolini FIDA CONFCOMMERCIO
Dr. Nadia Lodato Socia COOP

Leoluca Orlando Mayor of the Metropolitan city of Palermo

Saturday, April 8 took place the work of the plenary session, in which they were shown
the contents of the manual and the results of the group’s activities. Moderator of the workshop was the editor in chief of Live Sicilia, Giuseppe Sottile.

The manager Filippo Spallina introduced participants at work.
The Mayor of the Metropolitan City of Palermo Leoluca Orlando wished good work to the three groups. “Palermo can not only be the Capital of Culture but should also promote a “billboard” of other cultures, and food is part of this” said the Mayor.

Many of the proposals that have been discussed, some of which are already underway, as the “Inspection Handbook”: an initiative started by the Fipe Confcommercio arranged to facilitate the conduct of activities productive and to gather all corporate data and
documentation necessary for the management, and simplifies the control phase by the relevant organs.

It was claimed more clarity in the ‘information for both the operators and for consumers, to guarantee a right education from primary school. About the repressive system, although Italian standard is excellent, it still remains difficult to controll market that operates on the Internet, the phenomenon of unauthorized, and the sellers of street food.

About legislation: it was highlighted the distance between the right regulated by EU and national legislation and product liability; on the new food regulations and labeling of new products; the free-market measures; use indiscriminate of antibiotics in animal feed administered in farms; misleading advertising; the impossibility to know the phases of treatment of certain products. Finally, enhancement of “Mediterranean diet” by Assemblea Regionale siciliana in a bill already recognized intangible heritage by UNESCO.

The plenary session of the conference which opened Saturday, April 8 9.30 at Palazzo Comitini with a minute of silence in memory of
victims of Syria and Stockholm, by the will of the City Mayor Leoluca Orlando, who then emphasized: “Europe for definition is a union of minorities, and therefore should be guaranteed fundamental rights such as peace and identity, but also the power is one of these rights, since it is hooked basic issues such as health, and for this reason in matters of food safety must promote the educational aspect than repressive fraud food, with the aim to do prevention. ”

The interventions of the working groups’ speakers Alessandro Palmigiano expert in consumer protection, consul for the Sicilian Region of Lithuania, Carlo Curti Gialdina Professor of Law Union European University “La Sapienza” of Rome, Alberto Spagnolli
Head of EFSA communications and Giovanni Trifirò Commandant Carabinieri Nas Palermo have shown results of the activities of
groups that took place in the first day.

Euro MP Michela Giuffrida. On the letf Assessor for agricolture of Regione Siciliana Antonello Cracolici

Preface in the manual

In 1996, the World Food Program called the “food security” as the circumstance in which “all people, at all times, have
physical, social and cheap access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to ensure their needs and preferences for an active and healthy life “.
The European food safety policy, with its high standards, arises the aim of ensuring safe food to the final consumers, high quality and
comply with strict health protection standards. In addition, it aims the target to protect European food industry from unfair competition, the second one EU economic sector in terms of production and employment, with more than 48 million workers and an annual turnover of about 750 billion euro. In this context, it is worth mentioning the transatlantic partnership on trade and
investments (TTIP), the free trade agreement between the EU trade and the United States could create the largest free trade area in the world. The partnership it aims to promote closer collaboration between the European authorities and US in order to remove barriers, tariff and non tariff, in a wide range of sectors, including the food industry, without sacrificing the stringent
qualitative Community standards, which guarantee the free movement of safe healthy food .
Contributing to food safety along the food chain represents a key priority for public health and for the European economy. According to this aims, the Italian Representation of the European Commission support and welcome the campaign “mangio sicuro mangio meglio,” sponsored from Metropolitan City of Palermo, in the knowledge that it will help training European citizens to be more aware, and therefore healthier.

Beatrice Covassi
Head of Representation in Italy
European Commission