Italy is planning to reintroduce compulsory labelling highlighting the manufacturing plant of food products.
At its recent meeting, the Council of Ministers approved a draft bill calling for an amendment to EU regulation 1169/2011 introducing a European food label, which eliminated the compulsory indication of the plant, as foreseen by the previous Italian regulation.
The decision by the Italian government has been welcomed by both the agriculture sector and large retailers.
According to Italian farmers’ association Coldiretti, “Without national regulatory intervention, it would not be possible to recognise in the food on sale the origin of agricultural products used, and also the place of processing and packaging, thus making it easier to pass off foreign products as Italian."
Retailer Conad has published a paid advertisement in some national newspapers, thanking the Ministers of Health and Agricultural Policy for their commitment in approving the measure.
On the other side of the coin, the Italian General Confederation of Commerce (Confcommercio) has warned of the costs and additional burdens for businesses resulting from the measure.
However, the legislative process to approve the measure will still take a few months. The draft bill should arrive this week in Parliament, while Italy will send a notification to the European authorities for prior approval. If Brussels gives its green light, as hoped, the measure will then have to be approved by the Italian Parliament.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
