The labeling of origin and provenance of foods, and their primary ingredients, is beyond the priorities of the European Commission. The laconic answer to a parliamentary question, exactly one year after the launch of the strategy Farm to Fork, confirms its frivolity. (1)
Stella Kyriakides - the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety - is also laconic on the origin of 4 million euros rained into his current account. This is not the Europe we want. Brief notes to follow.
Food origin labeling, Question to the EU Parliament
the 17.3.21 Swedish MEP Peter Lundgren (political group European Conservatives and Reformists, ECR) has submitted a Question to the European Commission with a request for a written answer. (2) Object, Country-of-origin labeling.
'Country of origin labeling currently applies to honey, fruit, vegetables, fish, beef and unprocessed meat of pigs, sheep, goats and poultry. It also applies to olive oil, wine, eggs and liqueurs. There Farm to Fork strategy indicates its intention to extend the origin labeling of foods'.
The Strasbourg broadside
'It is not clear however what other products will be subject to these obligations, nor how the label should be. Origin labeling of products creates more jobs and increases costs, which gave rise to the idea of marking products as of EU and non-EU origin. The reasons are obvious, but this approach is not shared in Parliament or in the Member States, as it completely defeats the objectives of origin labeling and does not allow consumers to know where the products come from. '
The broadside of ex-tennis champion Peter Lundgren at the Brussels speakers is dry. 'What other products does the Commission think should be covered by origin labeling?'
The response from Brussels
the 21.5.21 the European Commission, through the voice of Stella Kyriakides, replied to the above parliamentary question with the usual vagueness. (3) Enough to confirm how unfortunately it always is to distribute the cards in Brussels Big food (when not the Big 4, as regards to agrotoxic e new GMOs arriving).
'In its initial impact assessment (4), the Commission announced that it will consider extending mandatory origin labeling
- milk and milk used as an ingredient,
- meat used as an ingredient,
- rabbit and game,
- with rice,
- durum wheat used in pasta,
- with potatoes and
- tomato used in some tomato-based products'.
Indication of origin for half a dozen food ingredients
Milk and meat used as ingredients in other products had already been the subject of previous consultations, under the Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker. As well as unprocessed foods and mono-ingredient processed foods or with a significant ingredient (> 50%). European consumers had expressed in all the aforementioned cases the desire to know the origin of the ingredients but the usual suspects had convinced the European executive to affirm that the costs would have been too high. Thus the Juncker Commission did nothing, despite the various resolutions of the European Parliament. (5)
The speech is resumed today - 10 years after the entry into force of Food Information Regulation (EU reg. 1169/11) - recalling only, and perhaps, half a dozen ingredients. In addition to meat and milk, only durum wheat in the pasta (not even eggs, soft wheat, nor other cereals and legumes used as well), potatoes among the unprocessed foods, rice and tomato preserves among those with primary ingredients. Disregarding theorigin of cereals and legumes in other products, among too many of unknown origin. The rabbit and the game but not also the horse meat, forgetting it scandal Horsegate (2013)
Planet Earth origin?
'The Commission it also outlined in its initial impact assessment the different geographic levels of origin information that will be assessed as different policy options. One of the policy options is the provision of information at EU / non-EU level. The other policy options are the provision of information at the national level, at the regional level, or a mix of the above options. ' (3)
It adds up like this the risk of a replication of the OPT (Planet Earth Origin) criterion, already introduced by the Commission in reg. EU 2018/775 with an excess of power not even opposed by agricultural confederations. (6) What else does it mean 'EU, non / EU', if not yet another mockery of the agri-food production chains rooted in the various territories?
Impact assessment?
The Commissioner it immediately took care not to worry the giants of the agro-finance industry. Specifying that Brussels'it will assess the economic, social and environmental impact of all policy options on consumers, food business operators, Member States and the internal market before making a proposal.(3)
The script appears already written. Origin Planet Earth is the option that best suits the globalization of the exploitation of environmental resources, rights and work that animates the economy of the few Corporation to whose sole interest politics is distorted. And it is therefore that 'the impact assessment will take into consideration any costs or burdens that may arise'.
#EatORIGINal, Unmask your food
What 'costs and charges' instead they can derive from the persistent silence about who, where and under what conditions produced our food? What opportunities are denied to farmers and processing companies in the territories close to the places of consumption, still forced to suffer the drug of the price competing with global exploiters? And why persist in denying the right of European consumers to make informed purchasing choices, in vain preached by the European legislator himself in Regulation (EU) no. 1169/11?
#EatORIGINal! Unmask your food - the European consumer initiative registered by the European Commission on 19.9.18 (7) - would have collected in 12 months, according to the proponents, 1,1 million signatures in 7 countries. (8) Just enough, according to the specific regulation, to oblige the European Commission to respond to the popular initiative (9) The initiative, heralded as a great success by Coldiretti (whose then president Roberto Moncalvo was its representative), did not however, it had no follow-up. Of the two, either the signatures collected are lower than those declared, or the Commission has failed to examine the initiative. (10)
From transparency to oblivion, in everyone's noisy silence
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) The most colossal bluff of the Farm to Fork strategy concerns the promise of obtaining that the organic system reaches 25% of the UAA (Utilized Agricultural Area) in the European Union by 2030. V. Dario Dongo, Giulia Orsi. Agriculture in EU-27, scenario report 2020-2030. GIFTS (Great Italian Food Trade). 12.1.21/XNUMX/XNUMX, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/mercati/agricoltura-in-ue-27-relazione-di-scenario-2020-2030
(2) European Parliament. Question E-001470/2021, with request for a written answer, signed by Peter Lundgren (ECR, SV). 17.3.21.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2021-001470_EN.html
(3) European Commission. Answer to Question E-001470/2021. 21.5.21, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2021-001470-ASW_EN.html
(4) European Commission. Food labeling - revision of rules on information provided to consumers. Public consultation report 23.12.20-4.2.21.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12749-Revision-of-food-information-to-consumers
(5) See previous articles https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/approfondimenti_1/etichettatura-d-origine-prosegue-il-dibattito-tra-commissione-e-parlamento-europeo, https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/approfondimenti_1/origine-del-latte-le-risoluzione-di-strasburgo
(6) Dario Dongo. Primary ingredient origin, reg. EU 2018/775. Call for action. GIFTS (Great Italian Food Trade). 30.5.18/XNUMX/XNUMX, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/consum-attori/origine-ingrediente-primario-reg-ue-2018-775-call-for-action
(7) Commission Decision (EU) 2018/1304 of 19 September 2018 on the citizens 'initiative entitled' Eat ORIGINal! Unmask your food! " [C (2018) 6054]. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32018D1304
(8) Dario Dongo. EatORIGINal! Transparency on origin and not only on the label is underway. GIFTS (Great Italian Food Trade). 14.10.19/XNUMX/XNUMX, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/eatoriginal-al-via-la-trasparenza-su-origine-e-non-solo-in-etichetta
(9) EU Reg. 211/2011, concerning the citizens' initiative. Consolidated text at 1.1.20 on https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32011R0211&qid=1622320498648
(10) The European Commission's website dedicated to European Citizens' Initiative, on the page dedicated to #EatORIGINal! Unmask your food it only indicates that the collection of signatures is finished. Without even referring to the total number of signatures collected (v. https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/initiatives/details/2018/000006_en)
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
