Traceability of canned tuna is a crucial element in the fight against Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing(IUU). And it is essential to extend the mandatory indication of origin and fishing method to all canned fish.
Pressure from IUUWatch-the coalition of NGOs The Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and WWF-on the European legislature.
Traceability of canned tuna on EU agenda
European lawmakers are being asked to decide this year whether to improve the quality of information offered to consumers about the sustainability of seafood products. (1)
IUUWatch first turns to Annick Girardin, Minister of the Sea in France as of 7 months ago, to lobby the Council of Member States.
IUUWatch, letter to Minister Girardin
Madam Minister,
Let me contact you to express my concern about the discussions that will take place next May on the traceability of processed seafood products during the Council negotiations on fisheries control. As a responsible French consumer, I ask you to respect my choice to consume sustainable seafood products by deciding in favor of traceability of all seafood products, including processed products.
Fish traceability is an essential tool for knowing what fish we are consuming, where it came from, who caught it, and how it was caught. Without it, it is difficult for us to make informed sustainable consumption choices. However, some are not in favor of traceability of processed seafood, such as canned tuna. If these products continue to be excluded from a proper traceability system, the EU will keep the door open to trade in products of dubious origin and deprive us of our power to make responsible purchasing decisions.
I ask you to intervene on this issue to ensure that French consumers have the right to know the origin of the seafood products they consume and that they can know with certainty that these products are not related to illegal fishing practices.
Please accept, Madam Minister, the expression of my highest consideration. (2)
Why traceability
Tuna traceability is the first tool for safeguarding the increasingly despoiled marine fish stock. Indeed, it allows us to know with certainty where the fish came from and how it was caught. The premise for responsible consumer choice.
A well-designed traceability system ‘photographs’ the product along every step in the production chain. From origin (in this case the sea) to the point of sale.
Canned tuna and canned fish, partial news
Canned tuna and canned fish in general are not subject to the labeling rules established for fresh and thawed fish products instead. (3) In fact, EEC Regulation 1536/92 requires only the following information to be provided on cans or jars of tuna:
– food name,
– indication of the preserving liquid: olive oil, vegetable oil, natural (water solution, with or without salt, with or without the addition of herbs, spices or natural flavorings),
– mode of presentation (whole tuna, tuna pieces, tuna fillets) or other parts of fish,
– percentage of tuna in the package (70% minimum for natural tuna, 65% minimum for other liquids).
Basic label information
The basic mandatory information, on the label, is that required by reg. EU 1169/11 for all pre-packed foods:
– food name
– list of ingredients
– net weight
– drained product weight (4)
– date by which the product should preferably be consumed (TMC, Minimum Term of Conservation)
– Name (or company name) and address of the responsible operator
– identification mark (which identifies the country and the production plant)
– batch to which the product belongs.
The optional information
Additional information is allowed on the label as long as it is not misleading or deceptive to consumers. Major brands-after decades of omission-are now reporting the source and species of canned tuna. Often with reference to ‘sustainable’ fishing systems.
Making this information mandatory as well and equalizing the labeling of canned tuna with fresh fish, ensuring its full traceability, is the only way to allow consumers to choose what they eat, IUUWatch points out.
Our market survey then offers additional insights, on the sustainability and other values of Italy’s most popular canned tuna. (5)
Marta Strinati and Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) See Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. Amending Regulations (EC) No. 1224/2009, (EC) no. 768/2005, (EC) no. 1967/2006 and (EC) no. 1005/2008 of the Council and Regulation (EU) 2016/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding controls in the fisheries sector https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52018PC0368
(2) SEE http://www.iuuwatch.eu/ca-vous-suffit/
(3) Seafood product labels and roe? Attorney Dario Dongo replies. FARE(Food and Agriculture Requirements). 11/27/17, https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/archivio-notizie/domande-e-risposte/etichette-prodotti-ittici-e-bottarga-risponde-l-avvocato-dario-dongo
(4) Nominal quantity, net weight, drained weight, replied the lawyer. Dario Dongo. FARE(Food and Agriculture Requirements). 20.1.17, https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/archivio-notizie/domande-e-risposte/quantità-nominale-peso-netto-peso-sgocciolato-risponde-l-avv-dario-dongo
(5) Marta Strinati. Canned tuna, pirates and mysteries. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade). 9.5.18, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/consum-attori/tonno-in-scatola-pirati-e-misteri
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
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