Mandatory indication of establishment location on food labels. Next, the ABC of the rules effective April 5, 2018.
Location of the establishment, Leg. 145/17
Legislative Decree 15.9.2017, 145 – ‘Regulation of the mandatory indication on the label of the location and address of the production or, if different, packaging establishment‘ (1) reintroduced the obligation at the time in Italy by the historic labeling decree. (2)
The aim of the decree is to ensure the ‘correct and complete information to the consumer and traceability of the food by control bodies, as well as for the protection of health‘ (Article 1).
Additional goals of the legislation-which Great Italian Food Trade together with Fatto Alimentare have been clamoring to reintroduce, including through a special petition https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/consum-attori/etichette-trasparenti – are related to the enhancement and protection of the authenticity of the Made in Italy https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/sede-dello-stabilimento-in-etichetta-il-must-per-il-made-in-italy
Plant location, on what products?
Prepackaged foods made and/or packaged in Italy are the first recipients of the requirement to cite the location of the establishment on the label. Namely:
– food products
Made in Italy
, which are understood to be made in Italy when their last substantial processing has taken place in our territory. Even in the event of the use of ingredients of foreign origin or provenance, and without prejudice to information requirements (3) in this regard. Be they provided by general (4) or specific regulations,
–
foods
packaged
in Italy
, albeit manufactured in other countries, European and non-European. With additional duty to specify the country of origin if its omission could mislead the consumer in this regard. Taking into account the nature of the product and its mode of presentation, including the
trademark
used.
The decree
not
apply to Italian products destined for foreign countries (EU and non-EU), since jurisdiction in trade matters cannot extend beyond national borders. In more general terms, whenever a product, food or non-food, is to be exported, it is essential to check the regulations in force in the countries of destination.
The national rules to be applied in individual countries where the goods are destined-even in the same so-called Internal Market (EU)-may differ in additional requirements (5) to the common ones. As well as for the appropriate language requirements, and the varying sensitivities of the relevant supervisory authorities. (6)
Also excluded are food products ‘legally manufactured or marketed in another EU member state or Turkey or manufactured in a European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member state that is a contracting party to the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement‘ (Article 7).
The mutual recognition clause, it should be noted, was granted to European (EFTA area) and Turkish goods only. Which-as long as EU law is also respected with regard to consumer information (EU Reg. 1169/11)-can freely circulate in our country as well, as in the entire Internal Market. Be that as it may, within the language requirements that prescribe the use of the national language for mandatory information. However, without needing to report news of the location of the plant.
Non-EU prepacked foods, on the other hand, are subject to the requirement to cite the location of the establishment on the label when sold in Italy. A major innovation, affecting ethnic foods as well as those coming from the southern Mediterranean basin.
Location and address of the plant, the ABC
Requirement to indicate the location of the establishment. ‘Prepackaged food products intended for the final consumer or mass caterers must bear‘ on the label ‘the indication of the location of the production or, if different, packaging establishment.’ This information may be provided by means of the commercial documents preceding or accompanying the delivery of the goods, in cases of ‘prepacked foodstuffs intended for mass caterers’ or ‘marketed at a stage prior to sale to the final consumer‘ (Art. 3).
The location ‘is identified by the location and address of the establishment.’
The address may be omitted if the indication of the location is in itself suitable for the ‘easy and immediate identification of the establishment‘.
The establishment location is not required if:
(a) the location of the establishment coincides with that of the operator responsible for consumer information, (7)
(b) the label contains the identification mark or health stamp, which are mandatory on meat and animal products respectively, (8)
(c) the location is contained in the trademark under which the product is marketed.
Where the responsible operator has more than one establishment, ‘itis permissible to indicate all establishments as long as the actual one is evidenced by punching or other sign.’
In any case, the legibility of the claim must follow the same criteria (9) established for mandatory information by EU Regulation 1169/11 (Article 4).
Checks and penalties
The competent authority designated to impose administrative fines is the ICQRF, Central Institute for Quality Protection and Fraud Repression, at the Ministry of Agriculture. ‘The powers due, under the rule goes in force, to the bodies in charge of ascertaining violations remain unaffected‘ (Article 6).
Unless the act constitutes a crime, (10) failure to indicate the location of the establishment (11) shall be subject to an administrative fine of €2,000 to €15,000.
The defect in readability, compared to the criteria in reg. EU 1169/11 for mandatory information, is instead subject to a fine of €1,000 to €8,000 (Art. 5).
Implementation and transition period. The decree is applied as of 5.4.18. Operators may, however, dispose of products otherwise packaged before that date with non-compliant labels until stocks are exhausted (Article 8).
For more details
on the overall framework of current labeling regulations, please refer to our free eBook ‘
1169 penis. Reg. EU 1169/11, food news, controls and penalties’, at https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/libri/1169-pene-e-book-gratuito-su-delitti-e-sanzioni-nel-food
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) The text of Leg. 145/17, on http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2017/10/07/17G00158/sg
(2) See d.lgs. 109/92, Article 3.1.f. This decree was repealed by the d.lgs. 231/17 in Article 30, subject only to the rules requiring mandatory labeling of the location of the establishment
(3) See in this regard the article
https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/made-in-italy-in-etichetta-per-un-prodotto-su-4-ma-che-vuol-dire
(4) One has regard to firstly To the European Commission’s draft regulation on the obligation to indicate the different source of the primary ingredient vs. Made in declared. Pursuant to the reg. EU 1169/11, Art. 26.3. See https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/etichette/origine-ingrediente-primario-vincitori-e-vinti
(5) One example out of all, warnings about alcoholic beverages., mandatory in neighboring France. As well as in Ireland (and in Germany, limited to nontraditional drinks such as the
alco-pops
and the
spirit coolers
)
(6) On baked goods, for example, the peculiar sensitivity of Germanic authorities to alcohol residues is well known.
(7) See reg. EC 853, 854/04 (so-called Hygiene 2, Hygiene 3)
(8) Minimum character height and other criteria stipulated in reg. EU 1169/11, Art. 13 and Annex IV
(9) Crimes of fraud, penal code, articles 515-517
(10) On a par with the defect of specification of the individual plant, in the case of an enterprise having more than one plant
(11) Even if a multinational company decides to package the product in Italy, moreover, the opacity of consumer information cannot be admitted. In clear contrast to fair information practices ex reg. EU 1169/11, Article 7
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
