EUCO poised to enforce revised “breakfast directives” labeling laws to combat food fraud

30 Apr 2024 --- The European Council (EUCO) unveils its revised “breakfast directives,” which place stricter rules on the labeling and composition of fruit juices, fruit jams, honey and dehydrated milk used for and in “breakfast” type foodstuffs. 

According to the EUCO, the updated regulation allows consumers to make more informed and better food choices, reduces the incidence of food fraud and adulteration and ensures more transparency in the contents and sourcing of products and ingredients.

Additionally, the EUCO reveals that the new law will enter into force 20 days after it is published in the Official Journal of the European Union and be applicable within the EU after two years. The date of publication has not yet been announced.

“Today’s adoption of the revised marketing standards for certain breakfast foodstuffs shows our commitment to strengthen European production and combat food fraud,” says David Clarinval, the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and minister for the self-employed, small and medium-sized enterprises and agriculture, institutional reforms and democratic renewal. “Increased transparency will empower consumers to make more informed and healthier choices.”

Tackling adulteration
The regulations on honey adulteration are in line with the provisional agreement reached by the European Parliament (EP) and the EUCO earlier this year.

The new rules contain measures for the increased transparency of honey sourcing to combat adulteration. The provisions include labeling rules that will grant consumers a clearer picture on the countries of origin as well as indicating the percentage of the honey each country represents.

The countries must be listed on the label in descending order based on the weight that each country contributed. However, member states can decide to list only the top four countries of origin if those countries represent more than 50% of the contents’ entire makeup.

Clearer juice labels
The new regulations also introduce three separate fruit juice categories for labeling purposes. These are “reduced-sugar fruit juice,” “reduced-sugar fruit juice from concentrate” and “concentrated reduced-sugar fruit juice.”The new law requires countries of origin to be listed according to amount contributed on all honey product labels.

As per the adoption of the recommendation by the EP earlier this month, fruit juices can only be labeled “reduced-sugar” if a minimum of 30% of naturally occurring sugars are removed. According to the EC, the labels meet the growing consumer demand for more reduced sugar products.

Moreover, the statement “fruit juices contain only naturally occurring sugars” can only be used on the label, improving consumer knowledge as the EUCO states that “consumers are often not aware of the difference between fruit juices, which, by definition, cannot contain added sugars and fruit nectars.”

Jams and milk
The law also lays out new standards for minimum fruit content for fruit jams.

The standard for jams will increase from 350 g to 450 g per kilo and from 450 to 500 g per kilo for extra jams. The EC says the move will help consumers achieve healthier diets by reducing the amount of sugar present in jams.

It also states that the new standards will bolster and support the fruit market. 

Finally, regarding dehydrated milk, the EUCO will now permit the use of treatments that produce lactose-free dehydrated milk products. The move will make products more accessible for consumers who are lactose intolerant.

Edited by William Bradford Nichols