Fraud for San Daniele pigs fed with bread and pasta scraps

Thefraud on the market was triggered for the owner of the farm that delivers to buyers pigs, whose legs are destined for the production of the prosciutto Dop San Daniele , fed with the waste from the industrial production of bread, pasta and pizza. Nutrients not provided for by the specifications of the Consortium that produces the prized ham, according to which the diet of the animals must be on a vegetal basis and rich in noble cereals. The Court of Cassation (sentence 35121) had no choice but to reject the appeal of the breeder, guilty of having delivered 'movable goods that differed in origin, provenance and quality from those declared'. To nail the appellant were the testimonies of the employees and also those of the inspectors who, basing themselves on receipts documenting the quantity of bread, pasta and pizza bought and the number of animals present on the farm, had concluded that it would have been contrary to the logic and philosophy of the business to throw away about 80% of what was bought, instead of feeding it to the pigs destined for PDO ham.

The appellant's argument that for minor product nonconformities there was tolerance on the part of the Consortium does not pass. A merely asserted tolerance that, even if it had been proved, would not have saved the breeder from the offence, just as a consent would not have saved him. And this is because 'the legal good in question is the public function of the State to ensure the honest conduct of trade and not the pecuniary interests of individual purchasers'.