The traceability of agricultural products in direct selling organization (Dso)

Ten years after the enactment of the Community Regulation n. 178/2002 on traceability of agrifood products have increased the public or private systems on the market and many of them concern the traceability of fruit and vegetable production. The weak point of such systems is related to the fact that they are often self-referential (voluntary certifications, certificates of other companies, etc..) And do not have the credibility that the consumer can have a local authority to provide a warranty imprimatur on specific and detailed aspects, the origin - in the first place - and the margins reliability, understood in terms of control of production processes employed. This communication summarizes the research activities carried out by the working group of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Policy of the Department of Economics and Business, University of Catania, which has led to the development of a software prototype for the certification of the origin of Sicilian fruit and vegetables within a Direct Selling Organized (DSO) model. The project idea behind this system considers the traceability of local products in a logic of “territorial system” and not mere “commercial chain” and combines the consumption of the agricultural product where it comes from “certified” by the system, such as tourist vehicle (and not just in food and gastronomy) in the area. The system differs from the traditional procedures of “traceability” prepared primarily to comply with the legislative requirements, allowing to switch between traceability, where the relations between the actors are closely linked by trade-related aspects, traceability to a “network” that focuses on the territorial aspect.