Implementing regulation on labelling primary ingredients of different origin published

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Jun 21, 2018 - Foods

Implementing regulation on labelling primary ingredients of different origin published

The Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775 on the labeling of primary ingredients of different origin has now been published. This regulation governs the details on the application of Art. 26 (3) of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 (Food Information Regulation - FIR).

Art. 26 (3) of the FIR contains general rules and requirements regarding the indication of the origin of primary ingredients when they do not match the origin of the actual food.

Until now, there has been no regulation for this origin labeling.

There are now two options for indicating the different origin of the primary ingredient:

• Reference to a geographical area such as "EU", "Non-EU", a region, or a member state...
• Reference to the following statement: "(Name of the primary ingredient) does not come from (country of origin or place of origin of the food)" or similar wording that should have the same meaning for the consumer.

The font size is to be at least equivalent to other mandatory labeling elements (e.g., name of the food, list of ingredients…). Furthermore, the information must appear in the same field of view as the indication of the country of origin or place of origin of the food.

The Implementing Regulation applies from April 1, 2020. Foods that were placed on the market or labeled before the regulation came into effect can continue to be marketed until stocks are exhausted.

Geographical indications and registered trademarks that represent an indication of origin are exempt from the regulation. These include, for example, Parma ham or Parmigiano Reggiano.

For further details, we refer to the Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775.

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