Brussels, 05/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - A French decree introducing labelling of milk as an ingredient in dairy products and meat as an ingredient in ready meals could come into effect on 1 January 2017 for a period of two years, French Agriculture, Agrifood and Forests Minister Stéphane le Foll announced on Tuesday 5 July.
France would thus be trialling something that EU legislation has yet to introduce, much to the regret of the European Parliament which has been calling out since 2013 for labelling of the origin of the ingredients in ready meals and which is losing patience with the European Commission's slowness to act (see EUROPE 11550, 10889).
The draft decree was put before the Council of State by Stéphane le Foll and Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs Martine Pinville on Tuesday. The Council of State will now have two months to deliver its opinion. “Following the opinion of the Council of State, the scheme could come into force on 1 January 2017 for a period of two years”, states a press release from the French minister.
On 11 March, Le Foll informed the Commission of this draft decree. “After the statutory three-month time limit, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis wrote to inform the French authorities that there was nothing to prevent trialling as proposed by France”, the press release states.
At European level, voluntary labelling is the order of the day. The Commission chose not to legislate, arguing that the compulsory labelling called for by the European Parliament, European consumers and the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) would be too costly. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)