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Food Law is one of those topics I fell asleep at in college. But it wasn’t until working in the industry did I find just how important it really is.
If you’ve been a fan of this podcast, you might have heard my frustrations learning about how the Europeans deal with GMOs. If you’re a first time listener, I’ll talk about it again.
But Ceasare Varallo is the man when it comes to making me excited about food law. He’s a lawyer in Italy who focuses on such things as food fraud, regulatory compliance, and communicating crises.
This is an amazing interview all about being a food lawyer. You’ll learn how to get a job in regulatory, how to get people to trust you as an expert and the amazing food technologies Cesare’s really into. One in particular that I haven’t heard of until recently… block chain technology
About Cesare Varallo
Cesare is a food lawyer based in Italy. Food labelling and food regulatory issues at national at international level are his main areas of specialisation. Founder of the website www.foodlawlatest.com, in 2013 he started his own independent law practice. In this context, in addition to labelling compliance services, he regularly provides advice to clients in relation to crisis management.
As of April 2014 Cesare is Vice-President Business and Regulatory Affairs EU at Inscatech, a US based company provider of food fraud intelligence, forensically based vulnerability assessments, and validated supply chain mapping.
He is involved in several teaching and scientific activities, both for private companies and public institutions, especially regarding food labelling and safety, allergens and import/export requirements.
Cesare speaks Italian and English.
Sponsor
This episode is sponsored by FoodGrads, an interactive platform for the Food & Beverage Industry, which focuses on closing the gap between students and employers with a broader mission to attract and retain people to a meaningful career in food. From Food Scientists to Farmers, Chefs to Plant Managers, QA Technicians to Dieticians, or Marketing and Sales, no matter what your passion–there’s something for everyone in Food—and they will help you find it.
Join FoodGrads for support, mentorship and guidance to start your career. Just go to foodgrads.com
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Knowledge Bombs
- Ceasare’s work is three fold: food safety, regulatory, and managing communication
- How Ceasare found his niche in food law
- Why regulatory is getting more and more important
- The interesting things about food marketing
- How to learn more about food regulatory
Question Summary
Introduction in a sentence or less?: I’m a food lawyer. I help food companies to reach the compliance
Cesare started with commodities at first and then went to more complicated things later
Steps it took to get to where you are today: Criminal lawyer, switched law firm and found food clients. Noticed about the specific type of advice
Foodlawlatest.com
Blogging advice
If you have good content, it will be successful
Avoid scandal or “fake news”, give useful facts
Interacting with your audience is super important
What’s the most important skill you need for your job?: How you communicate and interact with people
How do you get people to trust you more?: A blog with good content is a sign of trust, facts are a sign of trust, showing that you really know what you’re talking about. Keep on delivering good content and make them comfortable.The customer today is much more informed
Customers are reading more food labels and are willing to spend good, safe, tasty and authentic food.
Food Technology: Smart Agriculture, Drones, Artificial Intelligence to spot food safety issues, block chains,
Block Chain: Technology used to secure the financial transactions: bitcoins/ cryptocurrency. Will help food fraud a lot.
Biggest Challenge the food industry needs to face: Fraudulence and trust. Big companies are not trusted. Local is more trusted. A small minority has a lot of power
What is something you would like to know more about?: Marketing. How much work it takes to do marketing campaigns. How do you make things Viral?
Favorite Book: Lord of the Rings
Favorite Quote: Winston Churchill: success consists of going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm
Favorite Kitchen Item: My favorite dish is risotto so I like a really big wooden spoon
If anyone wanted a job in regulatory, what should they study on their own?: You can find many courses in food law in United States. California and New York has plenty
Study the objective official source depending on countries. Common websites.
FDA website, Code of Federal Regulations
Not so simple in Europe: 26 countries with deviations
Independent blogs can work too
Advice getting into the food regulatory industry: Get your hands dirty. You can’t imagine the complexity with regulatory issues. It’s more about how you approach the problem
Where can we find you?: Foodlawlatest@gmail.com
Other Links
Foodlawlatest.com
Baby formula scandal
Olive Oil Book: Extra Virginity
Anti-Vaxxers
“We don’t trust science but everyone is eating supplements”
Viral Marketing
Coca-cola put names on the cans, and they monitor and test everything
Food Marketing Nerds Podcast