Food labels, will the indication of the factory of origin disappear from the packaging? The new EU regulation for food labeling will come into force on 13 December. These are the new community rules envisaged by EU Regulation no.169 / 2011.
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Food labels, the indication of original settlement will it disappear from the packaging? The new EU regulation for food labeling will come into force on 13 December. These are the new community rules envisaged by the EU Regulation No. 169/2011.
The Council and the EU Parliament want to create a common basis for standardizing the rules on food labeling in the member countries. The main objective is to allow consumers to make informed choices. The EU and the Mipaaf speak of a major transparency to ensure the free movement of safe food.
However, there are some gaps in the new EU regulation on food labels. In particular, at the moment there would be no law that pays it is mandatory to indicate the location of the plant. There is therefore the fear that this information could disappear from the labels of food products: an eventuality that would certainly not be in favor of transparency.
Yet knowing the factory where the products are packaged is very important, given that, in the event of serious problems such as food contamination, would allow the authorities to act in a timely manner where the risk may have originated.
Furthermore the deletion of the original factory from the labels it would not allow consumers to choose products made on the territory, with the motivation to support the local economy. As regards the traceability of products, for example in the event of contamination, the problem would be solved by taking into account the batch number, which allows the authorities to trace the plant in question.
But the citizens, who are unable to decipher the batch number, would still remain in the dark as to the packaging plant when choosing from the many packaged products on supermarket shelves.
It seems that thanks toindication of the lot number - which should remain on the label - there will be no dangers to food safety. Citizens, however, could not having the necessary information available to recognize the plant linked to the product in question. So transparency risks being threatened?
Do you want make your voice heard on the subject? The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has launched one public consultation on food labels, with a questionnaire to be completed online composed of 11 questions, which include the topics of the indication of the country of origin and the processing plant of the products. Everyone can participate, from ordinary citizens to producers.
Click Thu to fill in the Mipaaf questionnaire on food labels.
Marta Albè
Read also:
Food fraud: 36 thousand irregular labels seized by the NAC
Food labels: finally from the EU the obligation to indicate the origin
How to read labels: guide for the conscious consumer
