New EU food labelling rules will come into force in April, which will mean the country of origin of the primary ingredient of a food will need to be declared.
For example, where a beef stew (processed product) provides an origin indication on the label, saying'Produced in Ireland’ or the label has an Irish flag, the origin of the primary ingredient, the beef in this case, will also need to be given, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said.
“The indication of origin of the food may be given in words or graphics [flags, emblems, etc].
“The primary ingredient is defined in the food information for consumers legislation as primary ingredient means an ingredient or ingredients of a food that represent more than 50% of that food or which are usually associated with the name of the food by the consumer and for which in most cases a quantitative indication is required,” an FSAI spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Geographical areas
The country of origin of a primary ingredient which is not the same as the given country of origin of the food can be declared with one of the following geographical areas:
‘EU’, ‘non-EU’ or ‘EU and non-EU’.Region, or any other geographical area either within several member states or within third countries, if defined as such under public international law or well understood by normally informed average consumers.FAO fishing area, or sea or freshwater body if defined as such under international law or well understood by normally informed average consumers.Member state(s) or third country(ies).Region, or any other geographical area within a member state or within a third country, which is well understood by normally informed average consumers.The country of origin or place of provenance in accordance with specific union provisions applicable for the primary ingredient(s) as such.Statement
If the primary ingredient is not declared by geographical area then the food labelling will need to state: ‘(name of the primary ingredient) do/does not originate from (the country of origin or the place of provenance of the food)’ or any similar wording likely to have the same meaning for the consumer.
The EU law itself says that "foods placed on the market or labelled prior to the date of application of this regulation may be marketed until the stocks are exhausted".
New EU food labelling rules will come into force in April, which will mean the country of origin of the primary ingredient of a food will need to be declared.
For example, where a beef stew (processed product) provides an origin indication on the label, saying'Produced in Ireland’ or the label has an Irish flag, the origin of the primary ingredient, the beef in this case, will also need to be given, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said.
“The indication of origin of the food may be given in words or graphics [flags, emblems, etc].
“The primary ingredient is defined in the food information for consumers legislation as primary ingredient means an ingredient or ingredients of a food that represent more than 50% of that food or which are usually associated with the name of the food by the consumer and for which in most cases a quantitative indication is required,” an FSAI spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.
Geographical areas
The country of origin of a primary ingredient which is not the same as the given country of origin of the food can be declared with one of the following geographical areas:
‘EU’, ‘non-EU’ or ‘EU and non-EU’.Region, or any other geographical area either within several member states or within third countries, if defined as such under public international law or well understood by normally informed average consumers.FAO fishing area, or sea or freshwater body if defined as such under international law or well understood by normally informed average consumers.Member state(s) or third country(ies).Region, or any other geographical area within a member state or within a third country, which is well understood by normally informed average consumers.The country of origin or place of provenance in accordance with specific union provisions applicable for the primary ingredient(s) as such.Statement
If the primary ingredient is not declared by geographical area then the food labelling will need to state: ‘(name of the primary ingredient) do/does not originate from (the country of origin or the place of provenance of the food)’ or any similar wording likely to have the same meaning for the consumer.
The EU law itself says that "foods placed on the market or labelled prior to the date of application of this regulation may be marketed until the stocks are exhausted".
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