Written by Ivana Katsarova.
Although origin labelling for food cannot be directly linked to a product’s intrinsic quality, consumers are increasingly interested in local food systems and in short supply chains. While the easiest way to convey origin information is through labelling, European Union (EU) law requires the display of such information only for a limited number of food products. EU consumers and consumer groups have long advocated greater transparency on food product origins.
In force since December 2014, the EU regulation on the provision of food information to consumers updated and harmonised food labelling requirements, set harmonised rules for the presentation of allergen information and tightened up the rules to prevent misleading practices. The regulation allows EU countries to adopt additional national measures concerning the mandatory labelling of food products, as long as these are justified by reasons specifically defined in the regulation.
Indicating the country of origin is currently mandatory for certain food products, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, fishery products, honey, olive oil, eggs, beef and beef products, unprocessed meat of swine, sheep, goat and poultry and the primary ingredient of a food when it differs from the origin given for the product as a whole. In the absence of EU rules, some EU countries have enacted national legislation requiring mandatory origin labelling for certain categories of foods.
As part of its ‘farm to fork’ strategy, adopted in 2020, the Commission intended to revise existing rules to extend the mandatory indication of origin to more categories of food products. However, such a proposal never emerged, and if or when it will be put forward remains unclear.
Read the complete briefing on ‘Food origin labelling: Developments and issues‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
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