An Italian draft law that has recently been definitively approved introduces new criminal offences and harsher penalties for food and beverage fraud and for the marketing of food and beverages with misleading signs and labelling.

On 15 April 2026 the lower house of the Italian Parliament gave a final green light to a draft law that amends the Italian Criminal Code, introducing new criminal offences and harsher penalties for the purpose of fighting food fraud and misleading food labelling as well as counterfeiting of Geographical Indications and Denominations of Origin.

Here is a summary of the main points of interest for foreign companies exporting food and beverage products to Italy.

New criminal offences and aggravating circumstances

The new provisions introduce two new criminal offences:

“Food fraud” applicable to the marketing of food or beverages that are not genuine or not sourced from the declared place of origin. The penalty is detention for 2 to 12 months.

“Marketing of foods with untruthful signs” applicable to the use in commerce of trade marks or indications misleading the public as to the quality and quantity of food and beverage. The penalty is detention for 3 to 18 months.

Aggravating circumstances are also introduced concerning the above offences:

• Where the offending activity is carried out in an organised way and on a regular basis, it will be considered “Agropiracy”;
• Quantity of offending products, if considerable;
• Untruthful labelling of products as “Organic”.

The aggravating circumstances increase penalties by one third.

Harsher penalties for counterfeiting of Geographical Indications and Denominations of Origin

Penalties are extended for the criminal offence of counterfeiting Geographical Indications and Denominations of Origin: maximum detention is increased from 2 to 4 years, and maximum fines from 20 thousand to 50 thousand euros.

Administrative sanctions

Administrative sanctions are to be proportionate to the severity of the violation and to the turnover of companies involved.

Mandatory seizure of goods and means of production

Goods produced in breach of the new criminal provisions, as well as the means for their production, are to be mandatorily seized.

The date of entry into force of the above new provisions is not yet known, but is expected to be announced soon; if you have any questions concerning the above, please contact us.