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22.08.2023 - Foods
LMIDV: Origin labeling for non-prepackaged pork, sheep, goat, and poultry meat
On August 10th, 2023, the Federal Law Gazette published the second ordinance amending the Food Information Implementation Ordinance.
Due to the BSE crisis, origin regulations were established after the year 2000 for both pre-packaged and loose fresh beef.
According to Art. 26 para. 2 b) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (FIR) in conjunction with Annex XI of the same regulation, there is an obligation to indicate the origin of pre-packaged fresh, chilled, or frozen pork, sheep, goat, and poultry meat. The corresponding regulations are contained in the Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 and have been in force since 2015. The information to be declared includes where an animal was reared and slaughtered, as well as a batch number to identify the meat.
Both the FIR and the Implementing Regulation apply to pre-packaged food. There was previously no obligation to indicate the origin of fresh pork, sheep, goat, and poultry meat sold loose. The labeling of non-pre-packaged foods is generally the responsibility of the EU member states. To better inform consumers about the origin of the meat and to establish mandatory origin labeling for the respective animal species for loose goods, the German legislator has now created an addition to the Food Information Implementation Ordinance (FIIO).
Section 4b of the FIIO regulates the origin labeling for non-pre-packaged fresh, chilled, and frozen pork, sheep, goat, and poultry meat. The labeling should be indicated in the same manner as for pre-packaged foods. For example, it should state “Pork tenderloin, reared in Germany, slaughtered in Germany” supplemented by a reference to the batch. The information can be provided on a sign on or near the food, by a notice in the sales outlet, or by other written or electronically provided information, as long as it is immediately and easily accessible.
As with beef, there is no obligation to indicate the origin of meat preparations and meat products.
The regulations will come into force on February 1, 2024.
If you have any questions, our customer advisors are very happy to help.
Source:
Cibus Lawyers - https://www.cibus-recht.de/
Link: https://www.cibus-recht.de/herkunftskennzeichnung-bei-nicht-vorverpacktem-schweine-schaf-ziegen-und-gefluegelfleisch-beschlossen/
Link to the publication in the Federal Law Gazette: https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2023/209/VO.html