Fabio Fazio and his chocolate company working fined for deceptive advertising and improper use of DOP and PGI ingredients
The affair with sweets, for the Italian well -known faces, does not seem to be a lucky combination. This time to end up under the Codacons lens is Fabio Faziohistorical conductor of What time does it do And, for some years, also an entrepreneur of chocolate. The consumer association presented a complaint against him, accusing him of promoting the products of his company, Work 1938improperly exploiting your television visibility. The company, renamed Sweetness of Riviera srlwas well of Ben Thirteen administrative penaltiesfor a total amount near the 100,000 euros.
Codacons, through the president Carlo Rienzialso invited anyone who has purchased the company’s products to evaluate the possibility of requesting compensation, evoking a violation of the rules on advertising and competition. The case has become in the public domain after the February 23 lasti Carabinieri of the Command for the agri -food protection of Turin They performed an inspection at the factory in via Parasio 36 in Varazze, headquarters of the designer confectionery production Fazio. The controls led to the seizure of 1,200 packs And 5,400 labelsfor a commercial value of 18,600 euros.
The investigation de The truth: deceptive labels and non -certified ingredients
According to what reported by The truth in an investigation signed by Giacomo Amadorithe main node concerns the labels of the products, deemed “deceptive”. The indication of ingredients was discussing PDO and PGIlike the Bronte pistachioThe Trapani rooms and the Giffoni hazelnutwhich would not actually be used. The pistachio was generically Sicilian, the hazelnut came from Piedmont, but without certification. An irregularity that cost the company Thirteen administrative violations. The sanctions, notified in the days following the inspection, were partially welded by Fazio & Co. within five days, thus benefiting from the “discount”: 62,400 euros paid on almost 100,000 expected.
And to think that only a few days before the blitz, Printing He had celebrated the conductor’s entrepreneurial commitment, nicknamed him the “Willy Wonka of the Riviera“, In an article with commendation tones. On the official website, Fazio told the origin of his emotional bond with the work brand:”My grandparents who at every Easter gave me the egg worked … my ambition? Make the best chocolate in the world!“
Ambition that has found concrete shape when, together with his wife Gioia Selis (today former president, like him) and a pair of friendly restaurateurs, has decided to save the historic brand born in 1938 from bankruptcy, investing almost Two million euros and also focusing on the incentives of the plan Industry 4.0. A rebirth that however took the path of luxury: Easter eggs sold to 80 eurosproduced in collaboration with Gucci Osteria di Firenzeup to the “top of the range”, theFuturist egg 2025limited edition to 340 euros.
Fazio’s chocolate has become culture, fashion and symbolism. Bars dressed like books, the packaging transformed into pencils, the words on the site that speak of “care and intransigence“. But the intransigence, at least according to the carabinieri, would not have been reflected in the declared raw materials.
After the storm, Fazio resigned as president on 29 February lastfollowed shortly after by his wife. The company has eliminated the disputed indications from the site and to reformulate the composition of the products, which today correctly report ingredients and certifications.
However, the open question remains for those who have purchased those eggs from 98 or 340 eurosunaware that the content could not correspond to the promises on the label. Codacons now invites these consumers to come forward. The king is naked, one would say. Or, better, “He made the figure from Cioculatè“.
