Raymond O’ Rourke,
Food & Consumer Lawyer
The new EU Regulation on food information for
consumers
Annual Conference on European Food Law
European Law Academy, Trier, Germany
21-22 November 2011
Raymond O’ Rourke copyright 2011
1
DG SANCO public consultation (Feb 2006)
Labelling: Competitiveness, Consumer Information & Better Regulation for
the EU
Strategic Goal for food labelling




Provide consumer with information to enable them make safe, healthy &
sustainable choices
Create a pro-competitive market environment in which dynamic, efficient
innovative operators can make full use of the power of labelling to sell their
products
Be consistent, coherent and transparent
Create common framework & rules in order to eliminate barriers to free
circulation of goods
DG SANCO public consultation (Feb 2006)
Labelling: Competitiveness, Consumer Information & Better Regulation for
the EU
Strategic Goals reflect the following issues:




‘labelling must not be misleading’ principle (Dir. 2000/13);
Consumer Rights (right to consumer info);
internal market (Cassis de Dijon)
competition.
Commission received 175 responses - Com (2008)40
Industry wanted to see limited new food labelling rules whilst consumer, health &
animal welfare NGOs wanted more food labelling requirements
What must be on a label?











name of food
list of ingredients (in descending order)
QUID information (if needed)
net quantity of food present (unless under 5g)
date mark (use by and best before)
any special conditions or conditions of use
name & address of manufacturer, packager or seller
place of origin (if leaving out would mislead)
any necessary instructions for use
Alcoholic strength – if more than 1.2% vol
Nutrition declaration – voluntary – but specific format if you want to make
declaration
Additional requirements









Beef Labelling – traceability
GMOs
Vertical Directives – chocolate, marmalade, jams
Food Supplements
PARNUTS
Fortified foods
PDOs/PGIs
Organic labelling
Nutrition & health claims
Commission Proposal COM (2008) 40
Initial proposal – 30/1/2008
1st EP reading – 16/6/2010
Council adopts Common Position 21/2/2011
2nd EP reading – 6/7/2011
Council adopts Common Position 27/7/2011
Final adoption by EP/Council – September 2011
Transitional periods for the implementation of the Regulation – 5 years
Commission Proposal COM (2008) 40
Issues not dealt with:
Language
Colim NV v. Biggs Continent Noord NV [1999]; Herman Josef Goerres [1998] Yannick
Geffroy v. Casino France [2000]
Court decided Member States cannot introduce ‘’1-language-only’ laws like France,
consumers not confused if ‘Coca-Cola’, but will be if ‘Corn Flakes’ sold in Germany
with Italian labelling !!!!
Lidl ECJ case – liability issues
Misleading Terms: ‘pure’ ‘natural’ ‘traditional’ ‘authentic’ ‘home-made’
Commission Proposal COM (2008) 40
Food information def:
means information concerning a food and made available to the final consumer by means of a
label, other accompanying material, or any other means including modern technology tools or
verbal communication;
Principles of food labelling law
high level of protection of consumers’ health & interests
assist in the free movement of foodstuffs - Internal Market
transitional periods be offered to introduce such obligations
open dialogue & consultation with stakeholders during law changes
food information should not be misleading & be provided in a clear, accurate & easy to understand
format for the consumer so they can make ‘informed’ choices
obligations placed on food business operators throughout the food chain [like Reg 178/2002] to
ensure information is accurate & in line with EU Law
Nutrition Labelling
New rules on nutrition declaration applies to Parnuts legislation, but not
legislation on food supplements & natural mineral waters.
Declaration shall include:
energy value
amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt [NB – order
has changed with fats first etc.]
the following items can be added to the declaration as a supplement - monounsaturates; polyunsaturates; polyols; starch; fibre; vitamins or minerals (in
Annex XIII)
trans-fats – Commission to complete a report within 3 years on the scientific
evidence in Member States, diets, dietary guidelines etc – as a means of
assessing the need for a mandatory declaration for trans-fats
Nutrition Labelling
Declaration in addition to per 100g/100ml shall also include:
a per portion basis or per consumption unit
Commission will prepare a report [taking into account consumption behaviour & dietary
recommendations] & then introduce rules on how such an obligation can be implemented
in all Member States
All nutrition particulars will be presented in the same field of vision, in a set font size as per
Annex XV [box format]
Additional nutritional information can be provided once it is based on sound & scientifically
valid consumer research; is objective, non-discriminatory & does not create obstacles to
the free movement of goods
Nutrition Labelling
INDUSTRY
V.
CONSUMER NGOs
Member States permitted to recommend to food business operators one or more
additional formats to provide nutritional information & shall provide the Commission with
such additional approved formats. M.S. can also demand food business operators notify
them of any new formats they intend to utilise
Origin Labelling
Country of origin will become mandatory for ‘meat’ as defined in the Combined
Nomenclature (CN) – so that means in addition to the existing case of beef – lamb, pork,
goat, chicken - implementing rules [within 2 years]
Place of origin or provenance of the food or the primary ingredient will be indicated [place
of birth, place of rearing and place of slaughtering] – like Beef Labelling regulations
The Commission will bring forward implementing rules on meat used as an ingredient
[within 2 yrs] following preparation of a Report on meat origin labelling which will include an
analysis of the costs and benefits of the introduction of such measures, including the legal
impact on the internal market and the impact on international trade.
The Commission will prepare a Report [within 3 yrs] on the feasibility of origin labelling for
other meats (rabbit), milk, milk used an ingredient; unprocessed foods, single
ingredient products, ingredients that represent more than 50% of the product
Alcohol Labelling
A list of ingredients & nutrition declaration shall not be mandatory for alcoholic beverages
containing more than 1.2% by volume of alcohol – “status quo”
Commission to prepare a Report on whether this situation should be maintained in future
especially taking into account other EU public health policies
The Report should consider the need to propose a definition of ‘alcopops’
The Report should be accompanied with legislative proposals if deemed necessary
Allergen Labelling
Allergens as listed in Annex II [includes cereals, nuts, peanuts, soybeans, milk,
crustaceans, fish, eggs, celery, sesame seeds, mustard, sulphur dioxide, lupin, molluscs]
shall be indicated on the food label for emphasis by means of a typeset that clearly
distinguishes from other ingredients e.g. by means of the font, style or background colour
In the absence of a list of ingredients the allergen should be indicated as: ‘contains …..
Indication of the allergen (nuts) where it is included in the name of the food product e.g.
fruit & nut chocolate bar
Allergen information will now be mandatory for ‘non pre-packed food’ - farmers markets,
restaurants etc. Member States can adopt national rules as to the means by which this
information is provided to the consumer – so a Member State could decide that it can be
given orally or by other means.
Font Size
Minimum font size of 1.2 mm x. height
Where the largest surface area is 80cm x. height then the font size will be
0.9mm
Annex IV provides further detail – rules on legibility to be established by
Commission
Distance Selling
Mandatory info ( except date) must be available before purchase concluded and
all info must be available upon delivery (exemption - vending machines or
automated commercial premises)
Non prepacked foods – subject to national rules
Vegetable Oils
Must state its origin i.e. rapeseed, corn, sunflower or palm oil
If a mixture of refined oils of vegetable origin – must state the origin of each and can follow
that with the phrase ‘in varying proportions’
Same labelling rules for vegetable fats
Voluntary Food Information
Animal Welfare
European Parliament sought method of slaughtering labelling – Commission asked to
prepare a study on the opportunity to provide consumers with the relevant information on
the stunning of animals should be considered in the context of future Union strategy for the
protection and welfare of animals.
Vegetarians/Vegans
Commission asked to bring forward possible rules on information relating to the suitability
of food for vegetarians/vegans
Reference intakes for specific population groups
Commission asked to bring forward possible rules on reference intakes of vitamins,
minerals & energy for specific population groups
Meat products – added ingredients
Requires added ingredients in meat products – such as water & added ingredients
(proteins) – these must now be labelled prominently on products
This provides consumers with more information to make informed choices
Sausage Casings
Must be labelled as ‘natural casing’ or ‘artificial casing’
Milk
Milk can only be labelled as ‘fresh’ when its use-by date is less than 7 days after its filling
date
Member States may derogate from demanding mandatory labelling items to be placed on
milk and milk products presented in glass bottles intended for reuse
Frozen foods
Labelling of foods frozen and sold defrosted was subject to discussion in European
Parliament
- additional information will only need to be provided where consumers would
be mislead or the product would not be suitable for re-freezing as a result of being
defrosted
Nanotechnology
Def: ‘engineered nanomaterial’
Must be clearly indicated in the list of ingredients using the word ‘nano’
Imitation Foods
Where a foodstuff contains an imitation food or a substitute for an ingredient normally used
in a product, the packaging must prominently bear the marking ‘imitation’ or ‘produced with
(designation of the substitute ingredient) instead of (designation of the ingredient
replaced)’
CONCLUSIONS
Implementation – various reports, implementing rules to be brought forward by
the Commission – so offering the opportunity for changes or decisions not to
introduced rules as agreed in the final text of the Regulation
Food Industry marketing – own-label schemes esp. Nutrition – the Regulation
offers opportunities for food companies
Private food quality schemes – Fairtrade, Red Tractor, regional foods
ECJ cases – language issue – need for clarification – other issues may emerge
from other cases
Nutrition & Health Claims – amendment of PARNUTS – highlight additional
future labelling issues