EU dairy sector rallies against mandatory national origin labeling

17 Jul 2020 --- Mandatory national origin labeling in the EU is coming under fire as some F&B organizations flag that it instigates protectionism and goes against the principles of the Single Market. The EU’s Advocate General, Gerard Hogan, has issued a legal opinion on the divisive subject as part of a European Court of Justice court case, arguing that this policy should only be considered if the origin of a foodstuff has a tangible impact on the product itself. “Any other conclusion would pave the way to purely nationalistic – even chauvinistic – instincts,” he insists. This statement has received backing from representatives of the dairy sector, speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst on these policy developments.

“Labeling the origin of milk on a voluntary basis can be a valuable tool for highlighting the local and regional provenance of the product. We had good discussions with MEP Herbert Dorfmann from South Tyrol, Italy, and we fully agree with him that placing on a voluntary basis ‘Latte di Alto Adige / Milch aus Südtirol’ on a yogurt pot is a sales argument for both, locals and tourists,” says Alexander Anton, Secretary General of the European Dairy Association (EDA).

“However, mandatory national origin labeling can’t claim any added value, which the European Court of Justice Advocate General, Hon. Mr Justice Gerard Hogan is talking about in his legal opinion,” argues Anton at the EDA.“However, mandatory national origin labeling can’t claim any added value, which the European Court of Justice Advocate General, Hon. Mr Justice Gerard Hogan is talking about in his legal opinion.”

Anton highlights double standards, saying: “We see some farmers associations in favor of mandatory national origin labeling of agri-food products with clear protectionist intentions, but the very same farmers associations are also very proud of their success in exporting their products. France is exporting 4 percent of its milk and more than 65 percent of the French dairy excellence exports are enjoyed in the other EU Member States.”

“In any case, we totally agree with the European Commission (EC) representative at the court case: there is no difference between German and French milk. Any difference in milk can only be linked to the farming system and farming conditions. So, when requiring national origin labeling, you cannot base yourself on quality arguments, but only on protectionism. The EU was built to avoid protectionism and to create a Single Market. That must be valid also for milk and dairy,” he asserts.

Pushing for voluntary national origin labeling
Following the statement of the EC President Ursula von der Leyen asserting that ‘the Single Market is a key instrument of European solidarity,” all 27 EU Ministers of Agriculture have signed a common letter calling for a “cooperation in the spirit of European solidarity.” 

“In parallel, they were building up unjustified barriers to the Single Market that are clearly – and sometimes very openly – driven by a very simple nationalistic momentum,” argues Anton.

In 2018, the EDA published guidelines toward the harmonization of voluntary origin labeling within the EU, which were backed by the majority of the dairy association’s members (excluding German members). In 2018, the EDA published guidelines toward the harmonization of voluntary origin labeling within the EU, which were backed by the majority of the dairy association’s members (excluding German members). 

The guidelines are outlined in the context of dairy sector produce. “The primary ingredient of a dairy product can be a blend of milk or dairy ingredients from various origins. In the spirit of these guidelines, if a food business operator decides to voluntarily label the origin of a product, then the primary ingredient (e.g. milk or dairy ingredient) should all come from the same member state or region. If that is not the case, both the origin of the food and the origin of the dairy ingredients need to be displayed on the label,” the EDA maintains.

As a general principle, food information such as origin labeling shall not be misleading, according to Article 7 of the International Commercial Terms Regulation. Additionally, country of origin or place of provenance labeling is mandatory in the following circumstances: 

• Where failure to indicate the origin might mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the food.

• Where the country of origin or the place of provenance of a food is given and where it is not the same as that of its primary ingredient, the country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient in question shall also be given. Alternatively, country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient shall be indicated as being different to that of the food.

Commenting on the recent advocacy of Advocate General Hogan for voluntary national origin labeling, Anton adds: “We are grateful for this call for action to the EU Commission. MEP Andreas Schwab highlights the problems, which the EU Commission’s communication Identifying and addressing barriers to the Single Market of March 2020 did not really tackle.

“The legal opinion of Hon. Mr Justice Gerard Hogan does not come as a surprise and we trust that the Court will follow his opinion,” he concludes.

By Benjamin Ferrer