Nowadays the food industry is constantly evolving and the management of transport of perishable goods transport is receiving more and more attention, both in practice and in the scientific literature. Due to their chemical and/or physiological characteristics, food products are more susceptible to severe and irreparable damage during transport, especially if the storage temperature is not kept controlled. Without question, the challenge of ensuring the quality of transport of perishable goods and, in particular, the efficiency of the so called “cold chain” require vigilant management of both people and processes involved in the entire food chain, throughout the transport phase from the packing at the shipper’s warehouse to the delivery. At European level, a first discipline concerning the transport of perishable goods was included in the Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council No. 178/2002, which established the general principles and requirements of food law, introduced the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and established procedures in the field of food safety. Subsequently, in 2004, through the introduction of the so called “Hygiene Package”, the entire discipline was deeply reformed in order to guarantee the respect of the new set of sanitary and phytosanitary rules concerning all the activities involved in the food chain included the transport of foodstuffs. The legal framework is integrated, at international level, by the “Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be used for such Carriage”, also called ATP Treaty, which was introduced in 1970 by the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe). The aforementioned legislations will be analyzed with the purpose of reaching a critical and comprehensive overview of the current legal regime concerning the transport of foodstuffs, focusing on the potential legal implications which derive from the technological innovations in the field of traceability along the foodstuffs supply chain.
L’industria alimentare risulta ad oggi in continua evoluzione e la gestione del trasporto di merci deperibili sta ricevendo sempre più attenzione sia nella prassi, sia nell’ambito della ricerca scientifica. Durante la fase di trasporto, infatti, i prodotti alimentari, a causa delle loro caratteristiche chimiche e/o fisiologiche, risultano più esposti a danni gravi e irreparabili dovuti soprattutto al mancato monitoraggio della temperatura di conservazione. In tale contesto, il rispetto della cosiddetta “catena del freddo” richiede agli operatori del settore alimentare un’accurata gestione dei processi di distribuzione durante tutta la fase di trasporto, a partire dalla fase di imballaggio fino alla consegna. A livello europeo, un primo riferimento normativo in merito al trasporto di merci deperibili è rinvenibile nell’ambito del Regolamento del Parlamento Europeo e del Consiglio n. 178/2002, il quale ha stabilito i principi e i requisiti generali della legislazione alimentare, ha introdotto l’Autorità Europea per la Sicurezza Alimentare (EFSA) e ha istituito procedure nel campo della sicurezza alimentare. Successivamente, nel 2004, attraverso l’introduzione del cosiddetto “Pacchetto Igiene”, l’intera disciplina è stata profondamente riformata al fine di garantire il rispetto della nuova normativa di natura igienico-sanitaria avente ad oggetto tutte le attività coinvolte nella catena alimentare, incluso il trasporto di generi alimentari. A livello internazionale, tale quadro normativo è integrato dall’“Accordo sul trasporto internazionale di derrate alimentari deperibili e dei mezzi speciali da utilizzare per questi trasporti” (ATP), il quale fu introdotto nel 1970 dalla Commissione Economica per l’Europa. Le principali fonti saranno prese in esame in chiave critica, al fine di giungere ad una panoramica per quanto possibile ampia del quadro normativo in vigore in relazione al trasporto di generi alimentari, focalizzandosi sulle possibili implicazioni di natura giuridica che derivano dall’utilizzo delle più recenti innovazioni tecnologiche nel settore della tracciabilità lungo la catena di distribuzione.
The Transport of Perishable Foodstuffs: Legal Framework and Critical Profiles
Massimiliano Musi
2018-01-01
Abstract
Nowadays the food industry is constantly evolving and the management of transport of perishable goods transport is receiving more and more attention, both in practice and in the scientific literature. Due to their chemical and/or physiological characteristics, food products are more susceptible to severe and irreparable damage during transport, especially if the storage temperature is not kept controlled. Without question, the challenge of ensuring the quality of transport of perishable goods and, in particular, the efficiency of the so called “cold chain” require vigilant management of both people and processes involved in the entire food chain, throughout the transport phase from the packing at the shipper’s warehouse to the delivery. At European level, a first discipline concerning the transport of perishable goods was included in the Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council No. 178/2002, which established the general principles and requirements of food law, introduced the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and established procedures in the field of food safety. Subsequently, in 2004, through the introduction of the so called “Hygiene Package”, the entire discipline was deeply reformed in order to guarantee the respect of the new set of sanitary and phytosanitary rules concerning all the activities involved in the food chain included the transport of foodstuffs. The legal framework is integrated, at international level, by the “Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be used for such Carriage”, also called ATP Treaty, which was introduced in 1970 by the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe). The aforementioned legislations will be analyzed with the purpose of reaching a critical and comprehensive overview of the current legal regime concerning the transport of foodstuffs, focusing on the potential legal implications which derive from the technological innovations in the field of traceability along the foodstuffs supply chain.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
