Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights Anton Refalo announced on Wednesday a new system for the traceability of wine, a new digital transformation within the agricultural sector.

A video shown during the conference displayed that with the use of an app, one can now access the information of a wine bottle with more efficiency, and preciseness.

This will be done through a unique QR code on the band rolls of the wine bottle, which will provide more information of DOK ‘Malta’ and DOK ‘Gozo’ wines, as well as IĠT ‘Maltese Islands’ wines, which are wines with a Geographical Indication, directly linking to the territory of production and the quality of the wine. The grapes of such wines are exclusively produced in Malta and Gozo respectively.

The app will enable wine producers, inspectors of the Agricultural Directorate as well as consumers easier accessibility on the process, quality of the wine and overall wine production, the video explained.

Minister for Agriculture Anton Refalo said that the ministry promotes AgriKWALITA, a statement which ensures that wine produced in Malta is of the highest quality. “This system is an innovative one, as whilst it maintains aspects of security, it will also simplify the controls of the agricultural product,” said Refalo.

Director General for the Agricultural Directorate Saviour Debono Grech said that the directorate has long worked to promote and consolidate the wine sector.

“This mechanism ensures more transparency in the process of the certification of the wine,” Debono Grech said. The consumer will be able to scan the QR code on the band roll and will be directed to a website indicating the process and quality of the wine, he said. The system will start operating in the beginning of April of this year, Debono Grech said.