InstitutionsBy formal appointment

Expert reports and consultancy for the proceedings.

On formal appointment by the authorities: evidence recording and sampling of seized goods, quantitative estimate, comparison with the genuine product and a technical report signed by the expert. Numbered reports; a written method, in draft; texts on request.

The problem

56%

of counterfeit seizures at EU borders (all sectors, 2017–⁠2019) involved goods sold online

Source OECD–EUIPO, ‘Misuse of E-Commerce for Trade in Counterfeits’, 2021, fig. 4.1, p. 54 (opens in a new tab)

Investigative support

From seizure to technical report

Evidence recording, sample selection, preliminary assessment of the products, quantitative estimate and technical minutes, backed by the expert's twenty years of experience as a judicial police auxiliary.

How an appointment is made

As an auxiliary to the judicial police (art. 348, para. 4, of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure, c.p.p.) or as technical consultant to the public prosecutor (art. 359 c.p.p.), on appointment by the judicial police or the Public Prosecutor's Office; as court expert, when the expert report is ordered by the judge (arts. 220 and 224 c.p.p.); in civil proceedings, as court-appointed technical consultant (art. 61 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure, c.p.c.). A first contact goes to the PEC address forensislab@pec.it; for a seizure in progress, use the ‘Urgent matters’ box at the top of the page.

  1. 01

    Attendance at the seizure

  2. 02

    Batch triage and sample selection

  3. 03

    Preliminary technical report within the time agreed with the authority conducting the proceedings

  4. 04

    Technical consultancy or expert report when appointed by the authority (arts. 359 and 220 Italian Code of Criminal Procedure)

Expert reports

Laboratory check and chemical analysis

With seized exhibits we work with the product in hand. The laboratory check, beside genuine reference items, takes place in the expert's laboratory, which is not ISO/IEC 17025 accredited: accreditation is a declared objective. The chemical analysis, where the case calls for it, is carried out under the expert's direction at a third-party laboratory. Every report carries a unique code; the public register for verifying it, and with it the QR code on the report, is still being set up.

Laboratory check

Measurements of the exhibits beside the genuine product, with the differences documented

How it worksHow it works: laboratory check

With the product in hand, beside a genuine example

Physical examination of bottle, cap and packaging in the expert's laboratory, beside a genuine example, with documented measurements.

The sample comes into the expert's laboratory and is compared against a genuine reference example, following the laboratory's written method. We measure the bottle and cap with digital callipers, the weight (overall and of the perfume alone) and the actual amount; we examine the paper and card of the box, engraving, printing and embossing, and the bottle under low-angle light and ultraviolet light. Differences are measured and documented, making the comparison technically reproducible within the expert assessment.

What is checked

  • 01A direct comparison with a genuine example
  • 02Measurements of the bottle and cap, taken with digital callipers
  • 03The weight, both overall and of the perfume alone, and the actual amount (volume)
  • 04The paper and card of the box
  • 05Engraving, printing and embossing
  • 06The bottle under low-angle light and ultraviolet light

What you receive

Report with a comparative table of measurements and deviations.

Chemical analysis

Chemical profile compared with the genuine product, in the technical report

How it worksHow it works: chemical analysis

The chemical fingerprint of the fragrance

Gas-chromatograph analysis under the expert's direction, at a third-party laboratory whose name and qualifications are stated in the report: the chemical fingerprint of the fragrance.

Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, carried out under the expert's direction at the third-party laboratory named in the report, separates the liquid into its components and returns its profile: a chromatogram is a fragrance's fingerprint. The main substances are identified by matching against spectral libraries; compared against the genuine profile, the chromatogram shows absent peaks, foreign peaks and altered ratios. This is where any undeclared allergens or solvents above the permitted limits may come to light.

What is checked

  • 01Sample preparation and dilution
  • 02Chromatographic separation and spectrometric identification of the compounds
  • 03Comparison against the reference profile
  • 04Detection of compounds not present in the reference profile
  • 05Targeted screening for substances and markers of interest, according to the technical brief and the applicable method
  • 06Quantification of area ratios

What you receive

Report with comparative chromatogram, peak table and conclusions on conformity, stating the degree of certainty reached.

Timing set in the appointment

Training

A fake is caught first on the dock

Programmes for law enforcement, customs officers and institutional bodies, on real samples, genuine and counterfeit, shown in the classroom within authorised limits: never products that have been the subject of an expert report, and kept in the laboratory's custody so that they do not return to the market.

What you receive

  • Modules of 4, 8 or 16 hours
  • Genuine and counterfeit samples shown in the classroom, never the subject of an expert report and kept in the laboratory's custody
  • Quick-reference field cards
Full details
Alessandro Pette
The expert

The expert

Alessandro Pette

Court-registered expert, Tribunal of Palermo, register no. 443, in the category of counterfeit perfumes and cosmetics.

Expert register no. 443Tribunal of Palermo
  1. I.Entered on the register of court experts, Tribunal of Palermono. 443
  2. II.Twenty years of experience as a judicial police auxiliary for institutions and law enforcementsince 2006
  3. III.Trainer for law enforcement, customs and institutionsongoing
  4. IV.Experience in the perfume industrysince 1999

Protocol register

A written method: draft protocols, texts on request

Consult the register

Code of ethics

Before accepting an appointment, we inform the authority of any grounds of incapacity or incompatibility (art. 222 c.p.p., Italian Code of Criminal Procedure) and of any circumstance that may affect our impartiality. Information acquired in the appointment is not used for commercial purposes, for brand consultancy or in our communications.

Read the article
Further details

Protocol register

A written method: draft protocols, texts on request

Consult the register

Code of ethics

Before accepting an appointment, we inform the authority of any grounds of incapacity or incompatibility (art. 222 c.p.p., Italian Code of Criminal Procedure) and of any circumstance that may affect our impartiality. Information acquired in the appointment is not used for commercial purposes, for brand consultancy or in our communications.

Read the article

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