Innovative tools of smart agriculture to protect the supply chain of Sicilian blood orange PGI

Nowadays, with regard to the final purchase of agri-food products, consumers are very careful to every feature of a foodstuff, such as its “organoleptic” quality or its respect for the environment, which leads to a major consumption of local products and the development of what is called a “Km0 dietary” to reduce CO2 emissions in the atmosphere and food waste. In order to safeguard the environment and to protect both food excellences and consumers from counterfeiting, voluntary standards and innovative tools can be used: EU quality labels, voluntary standards such as the UNI EN ISO 22005:2007, and innovative tools of agriculture 4.0, i.e. blockchain technology. The aim of the paper is to test the interest in purchasing the Sicilian Blood Orange PGI in the French market, inasmuch considered particularly attractive for citrus fruits. In order to achieve this purpose qualitative and quantitative analysis are conducted to verify if it is convenient, for the Consortium of Protection, to implement protection tools to the orange juice made up of 100% Blood Oranges of Sicily PGI.