Oropan: anti-fraud messages on bread packets, in collaboration with the Carabinieri

To mark Bread Day, Oropan di Altamura, one of Italy’s leading producers and distributors of bread and baked goods, has announced a joint initiative with the Carabinieri. The company, which has been in business since 1956, will distribute one million loaves of fresh bread across the country, each bearing a strong and clear “anti-scam message” printed on the packaging and aimed primarily at the elderly – the most vulnerable section of the population and the most exposed to scams, as news reports confirm.
On the packaging of the fresh bread, made from remilled durum wheat semolina and sourdough starter, the message “Beware of scams” is printed in red. And to make the message even more forceful, the subheading warns people to be wary of strangers and states that “no Carabiniere will ever come to your home to ask for money”. And “if you have any doubts – the message concludes, also in red – call 112”. 

The initiative was presented at the factory in Altamura – the town of mills and home to the eponymous PDO bread, the first and oldest PDO for baked goods in Europe, dating from 2003 – where 18 million kg of bread are produced each year across five production lines, with the aim of achieving, by 2025, turnover of 48.5 million (+3.58 per cent compared with the previous year), part of which is generated in the 27 foreign countries served (Europe, Asia, Africa).

Packaging featuring the message about scams will be distributed across the 4,000 retail outlets in the network supplied by Oropan with its range of products, starting with fresh bread – the first made from 100 per cent Apulian durum wheat sourced from certified sustainable agriculture (ISCC Plus).
“By reaching older people in their homes as they eat our bread purchased from retail outlets – explains Lucia Forte, CEO of Oropan SpA and president of the consortium protecting the Altamura Bread PDO – we alert them and turn this noble foodstuff into an immediate, unfiltered vehicle for information and communication.”

For the Carabinieri, the partnership with Oropan is an opportunity for “community social responsibility”, emphasises the provincial commander of Bari, Gianluca Trombetti: “In this way, we are investing in prevention by focusing on the safety and protection of the most vulnerable members of the public against these increasingly sophisticated predatory crimes. And for businesses, there is a reputational benefit; this is a model that rewards everyone.”

For Oropan, Bread Day also provided an opportunity to present the Sustainability Report 2025, which shows a 21 per cent increase in the workforce, from 162 to 196 employees (+21 per cent),a 162.5 per cent increase in the proportion of female staff, over 17 million hours of training delivered, nearly 33.3 million euros invested in R&D, expansion of the production base, digitalisation and energy efficiency improvements, and a 70 per cent reduction in emissions associated with waste management.
“Sustainability,” concludes Forte, “is an integral part of our corporate vision, which aims to build an industrial model capable of competing on international markets, whilst maintaining strong roots and contributing to the growth of the entire ecosystem in which we operate.”