Lucia Scaffardi

Lucia Scaffardi is Full Professor in Public Comparative Law at the University of Parma, where she teaches Public Comparative Law and Italian and Comparative Constitutional Law. She is Scientific Coordinator of the “Food for Future” Project (F4F), Department of Excellence 2023-2027, won by the Department of Law, Politics and International Studies of the University of Parma. Graduated at the University of Genoa, she holds a Ph.D. in Constitutional Law from the University of Bologna; she has been Visiting Scholar in several foreign Universities, such as: University of Toronto, Washington Law School, University of Cambridge, King’s College of London, University of Oxford, University of Coimbra.

Her main research fields cover different areas, from DNA databases for investigative purposes to biometric data as law enforcement tools, from hate speech to GMOs. In 2016 she started focusing her attention on food law and, in particular, on the impact of new technologies on the food sector, considering food safety and sustainability issues together with specific legislative and regulatory challenges. She is author of numerous papers related to Novel Foods and she is co-editor of two-volumes’ Conference-proceedings titled “Food Law. A Comparative Perspective” and of the book “Novel Foods and Edible Insects in the European Union. An Interdisciplinary Approach”.
She participated as a speaker in numerous national and international conferences related to food law and Novel Foods and she organized interdisciplinary Webinars on Novel Foods, edible insects and cultured meat, involving colleagues of the University of Parma and of other European Universities, together with business operators and EFSA’s representatives. She also co-organized a Workshop on food sustainability, promoted by the School of Advanced Studies on Food and Nutrition of the University of Parma, and she has been coordinator of numerous seminars about food sustainability, innovation and Novel Foods.
She obtained fundings for the realization of several projects in the field of food law, among which: “Sostenibilità alimentare e innovazione tecnologica: dalla carne coltivata agli insetti edibili. Legislazione europea e piano applicativo regionale, tra percezione del consumatore e regole chiare per i produttori”, Emilia-Romagna Region Call “High Competences”; PNRR funded project “ON Foods – Research and innovation network on food and nutrition Sustainability, Safety and Security” (in particular Spoke 1 – Research project ETHI_LEG: “Definition of an ethical legal model of sustainable food system relationships”; Research project INN_LEG: “Regulating technology innovation for a sustainable agrifood chain: from GMOs to vertical farming. A legal study”); she is Local Coordinator (University of Parma Unit) of the PRIN PNRR 2022 “New Sustainability Governance” (NESUS-G).
She is also member of: the Food Project of the University of Parma, the University Center for Bioethics (UCB) and the Center for Studies in European and International Affairs (CSEIA), both established at the University of Parma; she is also senior member of the Coordinated Research Centre for Innovation, Well-being and Environment (CRC I-WE) of the University of Milan.