Brussels, 01/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 31 October, differences within the European Commission blocked adoption of a report concerning the possibility of making it an obligation to mention the origin of meat on labelling of ready-made food (for details see EUROPE 10951). The adoption procedure was brought to a halt and put off till a later date.
After the horsemeat scandal (when lasagne containing horsemeat was marketed as containing beefmeat), the Commission had promised to speed up the publication of a long-awaited report in order to assess the possibilities of taking legislation forward on meat labelling. The report prepared by Health Commissioner Tonio Borg put three possible labelling solutions to the European Parliament and member sates, setting out the cost of each option and the consequences on industry. Borg's proposals were considered insufficient by MEP Agnès Le Brun (EPP, France), who urges the European Commission to present a legislative proposal aimed at making it an obligation to indicate the origin of meat on meat labelling. (LC/transl.jl)