To combat fraud, protect animal health, and ensure consumer safety. With these objectives, the Carabinieri Command for Health Protection, in agreement with the Ministry of Health, concluded the national control campaign on the marketing, including through the web and social networks, of food intended for companion animals. The activity, carried out from March 23 to June 30, 2026, involved the entire national territory and saw the Anti-Adulteration and Health Units (Nas) engaged in a targeted surveillance action on the pet food sector, with particular attention to online sales, product labeling, traceability of raw materials, hygienic-sanitary requirements of establishments, and the regularity of authorizations provided for by current legislation.
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The operation allowed for 275 inspections, of which 58 revealed irregularities, equal to approximately 21% of the controls carried out. Overall, there were: 56 people reported to the administrative and health authorities; 4 criminal violations ascertained, mainly attributable to commercial fraud and documentary falsehoods; 88 administrative violations contested; administrative sanctions totaling 129,773 euros were imposed. On the precautionary front, the following were also carried out: over 60,800 kilograms of food intended for companion animals were seized; 200,790 packages of pet food were blocked; 15 veterinary medicines were also seized; 2 production activities were suspended due to serious hygienic-structural and authorization deficiencies.
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The total economic value of the seizures and suspended activities amounts to approximately 1.7 million euros, of which over 934 thousand euros refer to the seized products and approximately 700 thousand euros to the structures affected by the suspension measures.
The checks highlighted widespread critical issues throughout the sector’s production and commercial chain. The most recurring violations concerned: 32 cases of irregularities in feed labeling; 17 violations related to hygienic-structural deficiencies and non-compliance with self-control procedures; 15 violations concerning failure to notify competent authorities, hygienic deficiencies, and self-control procedures; numerous irregularities in the management of animal by-products (ABPs) and related processing procedures; 4 episodes attributable to food fraud and falsehoods; 3 violations regarding the identification of companion animals.
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