The indication of the location of the establishment on food labels was mandatory in Italy from February 1992 to December 2014, when the Italian government deliberately failed to notify the national rule to Brussels, in time with respect to the advent of the new EU Regulation 1169/2011. A year late, we return to the topic. From words to deeds, our Must.
Great Italian Food Trade
and Il Fatto Alimentare have relaunched the petition already promoted on the Io Leggo L’Etichetta blog, calling for the reinstatement of the mandatory information about the production site on the label.
The location of the plant meets two crucial needs:
– facilitate the management of food safety crises by tracing back in instantaneous time to the production facility where the product originated, without the need to wait for news after days and days from the importer or distributor who may be on the other side of Europe,
– enable consumers to make informed purchasing choices, which naturally tend to favor foods made in a given area by a given producer. Just as it is normal that in buying a pizza one chooses Made in Italy, and in buying a brie one prefers Made in France for example.
There is more. In the absence of industrial policies whatsoever, a simple but essential piece of news on the label can bring concrete benefits to the system-country:
– consumers who choose Italian products every day realize a myriad of mini Jobs Acts that, multiplied and accumulated over time, can significantly affect production chains and local economies,
– the promotion of Made in Italy, beyond chatter and futile missions, can only start with a simple and unambiguous wording, ‘Made in …, Italy’. A label that can and should come on the authentic product only, and distinguishes it from the countless phenomena of Italian sounding, sometimes disguised behind the Made in EU label. What is more, any falsification of this wording can be sanctioned by authorities in any area of the planet since it is relevant to traceability and therefore safety, without the need to rely on uncertain instruments of protection that do not even allow for the hindering of such abominations as ‘Parmesan’ or ‘Cambozola‘ within walking distance.
What is needed now? Minister Maurizio Martina, with the support of the Council presidency, is expected to do two things:
– in Italy, immediately reinstate the requirement to mention the location of the production plant on the label. As part of a DPCM for the urgent and systematic reordering of food labeling and advertising regulations. Repeal once and for all the fateful Legislative Decree. 109/92, provide clarity and restore sanctions, which have already been lacking for a year,
– in Europe, promote the inclusion of the establishment’s location on food packaging as essential information for traceability purposes. Therefore, it is necessary to update Article 18 of Reg. EC 178/02, so-called General Food Law, which is still under review.
Dario Dongo
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
