Who Came First? The Egg or the Carton? An Analysis of Organic Packaging for Italian Retail Chain Esselunga - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 113

p. 23); a list of ingredients, including the percentage of organic ingredients if the
product is not 100 % organic (CCPB 2012 ). In addition, the following information
is mandatory: (1) the name or business name and address of the manufacturer or
packager, date of production and expiration and label of the European Community
(European Commission 2007 ; Minutoli 2012 [Interview]). The labels indicating
the above information must be displayed in two colors, either green/white or
black/white (CCPB 2012 , p. 19). In case of feeds, the label must specify feed
material and percentage of feed material. Additional information must be displayed
in accordance to labeling laws for all types of foods. For example, for eggs (organic
and non-organic) labels must indicate the quantity expressed in weight or number
of eggs. For organic eggs, it is mandatory to include information on the package
and/or each egg about the type of farming (e.g., organic, cage, free-cage) as well
as codes for the location where the eggs were hatched and how the chickens were
raised. According to the Decree DM MiPAAF n. 91436 of 04.08.
It is possible to identify organic eggs those products packaged according to the modalities
of the organic production, ultimately stamped on the shell at the time of origin or
manufacturing. The package will carry references about the type of organic production,
properties of the product, and location of processing. (“Decree DM MiPAFF 91436 -
Produzioni Animali Biologiche,” 2000 , p. 14 author translation). 6
All commercial eggs including organic eggs, must show data to allow traceability:
country or state of production, town hall of production, province of production,
name and place where the chicken was raised, and date of expiration (“La Carta
d'Identita' delle Uova” 2011 ).
In addition to specific labeling rules that apply to organic products, marketing
for food packaging must respect certain dimensions applicable to text and graphic.
For example, according to Nuciari ( 2011 ), “ a80cm /Mandatory captions on labels
shall have typographical characters not inferior to 1.2 mm (taking as a referent
point the letter “x” not capitalized), or 0.9 mm if the packaging presents a surface
inferior to 80 cm” (pp. 60-63). These rigid rules leaves little space for companies to
market their product in such a way to detach their products from other similar ones.
Marketers in the area of Italian foods stress the importance of telling a story through
the visual and text impact of packaging. Logos and mascots are recommended to
use to evoke memories and make a memorable impression in consumers' mind,
helping them to sort through items while shopping. According to a marketing report
for farmers and food producers, “Logos summarize in a visual image and/or in a
brief text key elements that one wishes the buyer to remember, seek, and easily
identified.” (ISMEA 2008 , p. 45). These images or text must appear on a package
that has been designed to capture the attention of the consumer from competing
items (ISMEA 2008 , p. 47). This is done with colors, selected fonts, and graphic
that must conform to regulations.
6 “Sono identificabili come uova biologiche i prodotti confezionati secondo le modalità del disci-
plinare di produzione biologica, eventualmente timbrate sul guscio all'origine o alla lavorazione.
La confezione riporterà il riferimento al metodo di produzione biologico, il riferimento dell'unità