EU plans 'Made in EU' labelling for food products

EU Observer
Posted: 2007-11-19 20:10:49

The European Commission is considering introducing a "made in the EU" label for food and drinks, aimed at identifying products made in the European Union.

The proposal, prepared by health commissioner Markos Kyprianou, says all goods for which final production takes place in the EU - including those which made use of imported resources - would be included under the label.

Only meat products would be excepted, and would have to retain their national production label, according to a report by Dutch news agency ANP on Friday (17 November).

Even before its official publication, set for late December, the proposal has drawn criticism.

According to Dutch Labour MEP Dorette Corbey, the proposal does not sufficiently take into account environmental concerns.

"I think that the designation 'Made in the EU' is way too general. The trend is to look where a product originates from exactly. Transport over long distances is bad for the environment," she was quoted as saying by ANP.

The "made in the EU" proposal is part of a larger labelling proposal for food products.

One of the other ideas in Mr Kyprianou's package is aimed at tackling diabetes and obesity-related diseases, making it obligatory to provide information about the content of fat, sugar and salt on pre-packaged food products.

It should also be made clear on the label what the energy value - the amount of calories - of the product is.

The idea to have a "made in the EU" label is not new.

In 2004, similar plans were scrapped by the commission because they were opposed by the UK, Germany and the Netherlands on expense grounds.

Furthermore, some EU members were strongly in favour of keeping their own national labels.