AVPN special panelist in the session dedicated to pizza

Naples will host the opening of the 16th edition of OPSON, the annual international operation dedicated to preventing and combating food fraud and protecting organic and geographical indication products. The event will take place on October 8 at the NH Napoli Panorama Hotel.

The initiative is coordinated by Europol, in cooperation with Interpol and the European Commission, through DG SANTE and DG AGRI. Italian authorities will also take part, including the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Health, ICQRF and the Guardia di Finanza. Representatives of police and customs authorities from around 40 countries are expected to attend, alongside numerous national and international food consortia and companies.

The programme will feature sessions focusing on three categories: alcohol and wine, dairy products, and pizza and ingredients. AVPN has been invited to participate in the latter as a special panelist, represented by Vice President Massimo Di Porzio.

The Association has also been invited to act as host for the session, which will take place in Naples — the city where Vera Pizza Napoletana has its roots — and will focus on a topic attracting growing attention from an international audience.

The invitation was extended by Gianluca Sabatino, Head of the Analysis Project Copy at Europol, the unit working to protect intellectual property rights and public health. For AVPN, whose work has always focused on safeguarding the quality, ingredients and identity of Neapolitan pizza, participation in OPSON represents an important opportunity to engage directly with the authorities working internationally to combat food fraud.