Finished Pack Ordinance / EU FIC: Tare in Pre-packaged Products
Jun 11, 2021 - Foods
Finished Pack Ordinance / EU FIC: Tare in Pre-packaged Products
Recently, there have been increasing complaints regarding the weight labeling of meat products in pre-packaged goods, especially sausages. The reason for this is that sausage casings such as natural and artificial intestines, sausage end binders (e.g. textile strings, wire binders, or clips), and meat skewers should no longer be included in the net weight as they were in the past, but rather must be deducted as tare.
The calibration authorities justify this with a change in the legal situation: In the directive 200/13/EC, which was valid before the Food Information Regulation (LMIV), the term “net filling quantity” was used, whereas the LMIV uses “net filling quantity of the food”. According to the calibration authorities, only the edible parts of the product fall under the definition of the LMIV, which is why the aforementioned parts should be deducted as tare.
In the “Directive for Quantity Control of Pre-Packaging and Inspection of Measuring Containers by Competent Authorities (RFP)”, which previously ensured nationwide uniform enforcement of calibration and pre-packaging law, these parts were previously counted in the net weight.
The coordination body of the calibration supervisory authorities - the Working Group on Measurement and Calibration (AGME) - has announced that the previous RFP will no longer be effective as an administrative recommendation for calibration enforcement with the enactment of the new Pre-packaging Ordinance (FPackV). The calibration authorities have determined that, for example, naturally grown inedible components of food products (such as seeds, shells, rinds) should be added to the net weight, while artificially added parts do not count towards the net weight, even if they significantly contribute to the formation of the product (e.g. sausage binders, skewers, separators, artificial cheese rinds).
Since this topic has not yet been conclusively clarified, we will keep you informed. Our customer advisors are very happy to answer any questions you may have.
Source:
Annual Report 2020 of the German Food Association e.V., pages 240, 241 – https://www.lebensmittelverband.de