Clear simple and readable. Here is the new food label.
ROME – After 35 years of honored service, the old food labeling directive (79/11/EEC) is retiring, replaced by the new European Commission Regulation 1169/2011, which will take effect from Saturday, Dec. 13 compulsorily in all member states.
The European label reform, which is the result of long years of debate to finally arrive at an unambiguous law, aims to harmonize all national rules on three fronts: the presentation and advertising of foods, the correct indication of nutrients and their caloric intake, and information on the presence of ingredients that may cause allergies. In short, the intent is to strengthen consumer health protection through greater transparency of information. But without affecting the free movement of goods, a constant concern of Brussels. Published in the EU Official Journal on November 22, 2011, the regulation allowed three years for individual countries to adapt to the new rules. “A long process of interinstitutional discussion is successfully concluded,” commented Paolo De Castro, coordinator of the Socialists and Democrats Group of the Agriculture Committee of the European Parliament-in which the Europarliament has played a strategic role in defining new labeling criteria for proper consumer information.”
Nutrition table. Packaged foods must have a nutritional table with seven elements (energy value, fat, saturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein, sugars and salt) referring to 100 g or 100 ml of product, which may be accompanied by data referring to a single serving. Other schemes may also be used – such as the traffic lights currently in vogue in the UK but recently put on notice by the EU Commission – only if they are easy to understand.
Readability and clarity of lettering. For the first time ever, the following is defined the minimum size of the typefaces of labels, which must be at least 1.2 mm (0.9 mm for smaller packages). This is to make it easier to read even by the elderly population, which is constantly growing in the European demographic balance. Mandatory information, nutrition and origin claims must be in the same visual field as the sales name. When the surface area of the package is less than 10 square centimeters, it is sufficient to state the essential information: sales name, allergens that may be present, net weight, minimum shelf life (“best before …”) or expiration date (“best before …”). The list of ingredients may also be indicated in other ways (e.g., on sales stands) and must always be available upon consumer request.
Deadline. The expiration date must be marked on each individual prepackaged portion and no longer just on the outer package. Meat, meat preparations, and frozen or deep-frozen unprocessed fish products must indicate the day, month, and year of freezing or freezing.
Allergens. Allergenic or intolerance-provoking substances (such as wheat derivatives and cereals containing gluten, celery, shellfish, sulfur dioxide, peanuts, tree nuts, lactose-containing dairy products) should be more clearly highlighted in the list of ingredients using graphic devices (e.g., bold, color or underline). Restaurants and food and beverage serving activities will also have to communicate allergens in a timely manner, through appropriate media (menu, sign, blackboard or register), clearly visible to customers. Fact, the latter, which has sparked discontent among merchants. In defense of the new regulations are some consumer associations, such as theAdoc“We do not understand the negative reactions of the shopkeepers,” explains the president Lamberto Santini – it is certainly more inconvenient to bear the costs and responsibilities of caring for individuals with anaphylactic shock than to change menus.” Opposed, however, are the Codacons: “There will be chaos in the catering sector – denounces the president Carlo Rienzi – Rewriting menus will result in inevitable costs for merchants, which will most likely be passed on to consumers.”
For Luciano O. Atzori, secretary of the National Order of Biologists, “the extension of nutritional labeling also to food products administered in public establishments, from restaurants to canteens, is the most innovative aspect of the new European regulation, which will lead to greater responsibility on the part of food operators and growing consumer awareness of what they eat. In addition, thanks to the mandatory indication of allergens, cases of food allergies and intolerances will be reduced. In this regard, it should be noted that in Italy about 3-4% of the adult population and 7-8% of children suffer from allergies.”
Origin for pork, poultry and sheep meat. Under a related rule, and one that comes into effect next April 2015, the place of rearing and slaughter of meats other than beef (which has already included for years-after the mad cow emergency-a requirement to indicate place of birth, rearing and slaughter of cattle) will have to be indicated on the label. In particular, the origin of fresh or chilled or frozen meat from swine, sheep, goats and poultry will have to be disclosed to the consumer.
Other indications of origin. Information on the origin of the product is also mandatory when its omission could mislead the consumer, such as in the case of a mozzarella cheese made in Germany and sold in Italy. A useful clarification to hinder the phenomenon of the Italian sounding, that is, food presented as made in Italy but manufactured elsewhere. A point, the latter, on which Coldiretti has always insisted: “We must now accelerate the path to make the indication of origin mandatory in all food products,” says President Roberto Moncalvo – Our pressing in Europe has yielded good results and now the path is set to the benefit of local products, the economy and labor.”
The words ‘vegetable oils’ disappear. It is no longer possible to mislead consumers by concealing, behind the generic wording of “vegetable oils,” the use of cheap tropical fats (such as palm oil, coconut oil or cotton oil, which are harmful to cardiovascular health). Therefore, the nature of the oil used in the ingredient list should be precisely stated. Thus, ‘olive oil’, ‘sunflower seed oil’, ‘palm oil’, should be listed on the label in a transparent way. Those who use extra virgin olive oil will be able to highlight this well on the label. In addition, if the oils or fats used have been hydrogenated, the words “fully or partially hydrogenated,” as appropriate, are mandatory.
Manufacturer’s address. An important requirement is introduced: the location of “the food operator responsible for product information” (basically the producer, see article 8 paragraph 1) will have to be indicated no longer with only a reference to a municipality to accompany the trademark, but also with the address complete with house number. Let’s take an example: on the package of pasta I will find the address of the registered office of the brand that produces it.
The controversial issue of the location of the establishment. The indication of the manufacturer’s registered office, however, should not be confused with that of the establishment of production, which was previously mandatory under Italian law (109 of 1992) but now becomes optional and will still be affixable with the only caution not to confuse the consumer. On the issue of the location of the plant, an opinion movement has arisen that has asked the government to keep this information on the label mandatory. The M5s has submitted a bill in this regard. and promoted a petition, which has collected more than 10 thousand signatures. Indeed, it is feared that without this indication it will be impossible to tell whether an Italian company has relocated production abroad. The problem arises more for domestic food industries because multinationals, it is known, produce everywhere: “If I want to reward companies that do not relocate or choose a product from a certain region,” the Five Stars ask, “how can I do it if I do not know the place of production? The executive for the time being has responded that an ad hoc law is needed, the appropriateness of which will be evaluated in the future.
Fish. Both the scientific name of the fish and the commercial name, details of the fishing location, the category of fishing gear used to catch the fish, and whether the product has been thawed will have to be indicated on the label (see “frozen” section below), while the current indication of the production method, i.e., caught at sea, freshwater, or farmed, remains in effect.
Frozen. In the case of frozen meat and fish and frozen preparations of unprocessed frozen meat and fish, the date of freezing should be indicated. In contrast, in the case of food that has been frozen before sale and is sold thawed, the name of the food must be accompanied by the words “thawed.”
Meat and fish preparations. Meat, meat preparations, and fishery products sold as fillets, slices, or portions that have been fortified with more than 5 percent water must indicate its presence on the label. Portions, fillets, or preparations composed of several pieces joined with additives or enzymes must specify that the product is obtained from the combination of several pieces (e.g., “mechanically separated meat” or “reconstituted fish”). Similarly, the presence of added proteins and their origin should be indicated.
Physical state of the product. The treatments undergone by the product or even the ingredient will have to be accurately indicated. In this way, it will not be possible to take refuge-even in the ingredient list-behind terms such as “milk,” if milk powder or milk protein is used.
Substitution of normally expected ingredients. In the case of foods that contain, in their production recipe, substitute ingredients than what the consumer reasonably expects, these must be made clearly visible next to the product name, in characters similar to those of the food name. An example: a hazelnut cream that does not contain cocoa (an ingredient the consumer expects to find), but, for example, peanut butter, will need to have the words “with peanut butter” next to the product name.
Sausages. Sausage casings must clearly indicate when the casing is inedible.
Caffeine. Tea- and coffee-based “energy drinks” and “energy drinks” with a caffeine content greater than 150 mg/l must bear the warning on the label, in addition to the words “High caffeine content” (introduced in 2003): “Not recommended for children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Web-based sales. The sale of food on the web is also regulated for the first time. Consumers will have to have all legally required information (such as name of the food, ingredient list, allergens, net quantity, etc.) before finalizing the purchase, with the exception of the expiration date or the like, which can instead be provided with the delivery of the food.
Which products are exempted. The nutrition labeling requirement does not apply to fresh fruits and vegetables and unprocessed or seasoned single-ingredient products only; flours, waters, flavorings, spices, herbs, sweeteners, and chewing gum, food supplements. Also excluded from the nutrition label requirement are pre-wrapped products (foods portioned from the inner supermarket departments, to be clear) and those contained in small packages with a surface area of less than 25 square centimeters.
Taken from Repubblica.it
