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29/05/2026

The request for a preliminary ruling, referred by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court, concerns the interpretation of Articles 34 and 36 TFEU, on the free movement of goods, and Article 9(7) of …

29/05/2026

EU Commission challenges the French Environmental Labeling in Court

⚖️ The 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. At the centre of the dispute are the provisions introduced by France through Article 17 of Law No 105/2020 and Decree No 835/2021, which made it 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐧” 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬....

⚖️ The 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐉....

14/05/2026

Yesterday I presented the EU simplification package of at FoodRevolution 2026, followed by a fruitful Q&A session with Prof. Chris Elliott and Francesca Ronca from the Italian Union of Sustainable Palm Oil.

More will come in an on-spot interview with Maurizio Paleologo Oriundi

The agreed outcome of the panel was that:

✔️ The EUDR is still a very complex regulatory exercise

✔️ It can create bottlenecks since not all EU operators will be ready to comply, and this, in turn, can push prices of interested commodities even higher

✔️ Fraudulent practices might increase, especially documentary, certification, and origin frauds

✔️Verification of data is the key pain point for companies to get legally covered

✔️ A multi-layered approach will be needed: document checks alone won't be enough. On-spot analytical screening, ex post analytical check, audits, and third-party verifications might play a role

✔️ Sanctions might be up to 4% of yearly turnover, but enforcement has not been clearly designed in most Member States

02/05/2026

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02/05/2026

I feel

22/01/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟑 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔?

I recently had the pleasure of joining Darshan Kulkarni for a "deep dive" into the current landscape of EU Food Law. We discussed everything from the "romantic" perception of Italian food to the hard realities of compliance facing manufacturers today.

If you are exporting to Europe or managing a global supply chain, here are the key takeaways from our conversation:

🔮 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐀 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫. I believe 2026 will be a year of transition rather than massive legislative reform. The European Commission’s "Green Deal" was incredibly ambitious - aiming for 25% organic agriculture and huge pesticide reductions - but these goals are clashing with economic realities. We are now seeing a potential shift toward simplifying life for companies to keep them competitive, rather than pushing new, complex regulations.

💶 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐯𝐬. 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞. Darshan asked why food seems to taste better in Europe. While we have wonderful Geographical Indications protecting our traditions (and beautiful landscapes to enjoy them in!), and this might enhance the experience, we surely have unbeaten know-how in Italy about food. But speaking of high-quality products, we cannot ignore affordability. Food security is the first pillar of our system. Even in Europe, price remains the #1 driver for consumer purchases, often outweighing sustainability or organic attributes, and inflation squeezed household expenses everywhere, pushing up prices.

🚀 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟑 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 right now:

𝟏. 𝐄𝐔 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐄𝐔𝐃𝐑): although delayed until the end of 2026, this will have a massive impact on commodities like cocoa, coffee, and soy. Importers must prepare for strict geolocation due diligence. I fear this burden may lead to price speculation or fraudulent practices if small companies cannot cope.

𝟐. 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬: the scrutiny is rising. You can no longer make vague "green" claims or set ambitious 2050 goals without measurable actions today. Authorities and consumer associations are watching closely.

𝟑. 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲/𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬: not surprisingly, I am seeing a spike in food safety issues and recalls compared to the pre-COVID era, due to economic and geopolitical factors. The squeezing of resources appears to be putting pressure on safety cultures within facilities, testing even the most capable food businesses.

A big "𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒆" to Darshan for the kind introduction to his network!

Complying with International Food Law Trends

22/01/2026

🌍 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚.
➡️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞.

Food and consumer-goods supply chains generate enormous amounts of information: specs, COAs, allergen statements, sustainability claims, certificates, audit evidence, etc. Yet most of it is still exchanged as:

- PDFs attached to emails
- spreadsheets copied across silos
- portals that don’t talk to each other

The result is familiar: delays, version conflicts, duplicated checks, copy/paste errors, out-of-date versions of documents sent, etc., with huge reputational damages when mistakes reflect on labeling (e.g., allergens).

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

What makes global data exchange hard is not technology per se, but five structural constraints:

🚜 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝: suppliers move faster than approval workflows.
💻 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: each actor uses different formats, systems, and taxonomies.
🤝 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭: data must be reliable, traceable, public, and access-controlled.
📈 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: manual review does not scale across thousands of SKUs and markets.
💵 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: today, suppliers give data away for free, and buyers extract the value.

This is what we are building at Celerya®, 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐔𝐒-𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝, to pragmatically tackle these constraints and put together regulatory compliance with ex*****on speed:

𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲: low-friction onboarding matters more than feature density.

𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: data is structured to travel across systems, not get stuck in one.

𝐀𝐈-𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝: not to “replace judgment”, but to pre-screen, normalise, analyse, and flag risk.

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧: granular access, ownership retained by the data holder.

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: the underrated point is that suppliers should finally capture value from high-quality, reusable data instead of treating it as a cost centre.

This last point is crucial. As long as data exchange is asymmetric: buyers demand/suppliers comply, the system will remain inefficient and adversarial.
The moment data becomes reusable, permissioned, and economically meaningful, the incentives change.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚-𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒐𝒏 “𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍”, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕, 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓.

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑒𝑥𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒: 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑, 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠?

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