Agnello di Sardegna Igp, anti-counterfeiting labels with the State Mint

To protect the Sardinian lamb Igp from counterfeiting come the labels produced in collaboration with the Mint and the State Polygraphic Institute. Specifically, these are devices that are difficult to replicate, labels made with high-level technologies and security systems similar to those of banknotes.
The announcement was made by the top management of Contas, the national consortium for the protection of Sardinian lamb as part of the programme for the protection and enhancement of local products.

The communication comes after what was discovered a few days ago by Contas inspectors, after an inspection in a large-scale retail outlet in the peninsula. During the verification, as they make known, 'a criticality in the traceability and labelling system immediately emerged, due to the operation of the scales based on product codes'. "In this specific case," they say, "the code for 'Agnello di Sardegna' was mistakenly associated with a lamb of foreign origin, present in supermarkets during the Easter period.

A failure on which the heads of the protection body felt it necessary to 'remedy with greater clarity' by means of suitable tools to certify the authenticity of the products. "These episodes push us to raise our attention even higher," explains Contas president Battista Cualbu. Implementing tools such as digital tracking is essential to certify provenance and authenticity.

For Alessandro Mazzette, director of Contas, 'training operators and strengthening controls along the entire supply chain is indispensable to guarantee reliability and transparency. Reports from consumers, who are increasingly attentive, help us to improve'.
And the collaboration with the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato to develop advanced labels, and security labels, is one of these activities. "This technology," argues President Cualbu, "will make the labels difficult to replicate, developing advanced labels with security systems similar to those used for printing banknotes and special papers, protecting consumers and the work of shepherds to a greater extent.

That is not all. Another aspect being worked on is consumer awareness. 'Promoting a culture of conscious consumption,' Cualbu concludes, 'is a collective challenge to educate citizens to recognise food frauds and to value certified products such as our Agnello di Sardegna Igp.