Fish, shellfish and seafood sold at a lower price than the market. Advertising on social media and trips across Italy to the Santo Stefano Magra motorway toll booth. However, deliveries in the La Spezia area were blocked by the La Spezia traffic police, by ASL 5 through the complex structure “Hygiene of the production, marketing, conservation and transport of foods of animal origin and their derivatives”. An activity that led to the seizure of two quintals of fish products, including mussels, oysters, clams and cockles.
The facts date back to recent days when the Stradale stopped a van for a routine check and in that context the absence of the documentation accompanying the transported fishing products emerged. Consequently, the activity of the veterinary service of ASL 5 also began. Inside the van there were polystyrene containers ready to be given to buyers in previously established places, along a route in stages that crossed central and northern Italy .
A note from ASL 5 underlines that: “The goods, according to the checks carried out by the Health Authority, came from a fish shop in the center of Naples whose owner appears to be very active on social media with almost 500 thousand followers. Through social media, the owner of the fish shop published videos and posts in which he promoted the goods in a very nice and captivating way and invited those who followed him from different regions to book the ‘family boxes’ at a considerably attractive price for the type of products contained in them including fish, crustaceans and seafood”.
Again according to what ASL reports: “Mussels, oysters, clams and cockles appeared to be in bulk, without labeling and not packaged in nets as required by the consumer protection legislation which, among other things, requires that these products must be marketed be subjected to purification and packaged in special factories called Shellfish Shipping Centres. Even the mandatory information required for fish by the law, including the obligation to indicate the presence of any allergens, such as sulphites, was not guaranteed and provided in any way to buyers, also because the form of remote purchasing, does not allow correct information to the consumer on the origin of the catch, on the treatments and on the transport methods in temperature regime even though the foodstuffs that ASL 5 found on board the truck were suitably preserved in ice and transported by refrigerated vehicle”.
Subsequent checks also revealed that the company responsible for transport and deliveries to customers was found to be unauthorized. The entire quantity, leftover from the previous stages, was seized by the control staff of ASL 5. The van was sealed, sealed and sent under medical conditions to the place of departure, at the disposal of the competent ASL in the area following agreement with the Campania veterinary services.
