From Food Navigator, June 18:
France wants to tighten ‘transparency’ rules: No ‘meaty’ names for plant-based products and stricter origin labels
In a recent communication to the European Commission, France’s Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances detailed the contents of the new ‘Act on the transparency of information on agricultural and food products’.
Additional requirements would include rules on how information is presented online and the ‘indication of origin of cocoa for cocoa products, in the raw or processed state’. As of 1 January 2021, the labelling of the origin of honey in blends and of royal jelly, in descending order by weigh, could also be mandatory.
Following on from the long-running debate in the EU over whether ‘meaty names’ should be used to describe plant-based products, France wants to act unilaterally to prohibit this practice. “Article 5 prohibits the use of names used to indicate foodstuffs of animal origin, to describe, market and promote foodstuffs containing vegetable proteins, beyond a threshold which will be set by decree,” the French government stated.
In a bid to protect its artisan cheesemakers, the French government also revealed the changes would also require ‘fromage fermier’, or farmhouse cheese, should only be used to describe ‘cheese matured outside the establishment, in particular for small farm producers’.
Other updates encompass labelling the origin of alcoholic drinks including wine and beer.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Secretary of State to the Minister of the Economy and Finance commented: "Improving the labelling of food products is essential to allow consumers to become real ‘consumer-actors’. Many French people are committed to promoting short [supply chains], quality production and supporting our farmers. This enhanced traceability confirms our policy in favour of ‘Made in France’.”
Fragmentation of the single market?
The single market accounts for 90% of European food sector sales.
EU regulation on food information to consumers allows Member States to introduce additional mandatory labelling requirements for specific food categories - including indicating a products origin - if justified on the grounds of public health or consumer protection........MORE
It;s actually a pretty big deal.
