Conference on “Food E-commerce and the Law”

Food E-commerce and the Law: A Legal Analysis of the Role of Food Information in Strengthening Trust in EU Business-to-Consumers Food E-Commerce  with Silvia Rolandi; discussant: Lorenzo Bairati

Food E-commerce and the Law explores the intersection of law, technology, trust, and information in the rapidly expanding field of business-to-consumer (B2C) food e-commerce within the European Union.
As digital transformation reshapes trade and everyday life, the European Union’s attention to the potential of the digital sector to fully develop the Single Market has been constant in recent years.
The online food sales sector remains particularly complex and underdeveloped for its potential.
Essential for human life, culturally significant, and governed by multi-level regulatory frameworks, food presents unique challenges when sold at a distance.
The methodological approach adopted, which is rooted in legal realism proper of the agricultural law tradition, situates legal norms within their socio-legal and economic context, drawing on insights from behavioral economics to explain how consumers perceive food e-commerce and how that information emerges as a key trust-building factor for consumers.
The book investigates how EU food legislation addresses mandatory information requirements in digital marketplaces. It retraces the historical evolution of EU digital policy and food information law, from early directives on food labelling to Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, the Digital Services Act. The analysis also highlights the challenges of responsibility and official controls in the dematerialized context of e-commerce, with particular attention to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and subsequent Commission notices.

Silvia Rolandi is a legal scholar and lawyer specializing in international agri-food law, employing a strong interdisciplinary approach that combines law, sustainability, and digital innovation with tradition. She holds a degree in International Private Law from the University of Pisa Law School and a postgraduate qualification in International Trade Law from the International Training Centre of the UN-ILO in Turin. She earned her Ph.D. in Politics, Human Rights, and Sustainability from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pisa, Adjunct Professor – University of Siena, International Affiliate Scholar, Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy – UCLA – Law – USA, and Affiliated Research Scholar at Wageningen University – LAW Group – NL.

The conference will be held (in English) on May 6 6.5.26 at 11.30 in Aula Miroglio