Consultations have opened in Europe to revise food labelling, from the indication of the origin of ingredients to that of nutritional values. Consultations have opened in Europe to revise food labelling, from the indication of the origin of ingredients to that of nutritional values.
From milk to tomato derivatives, from cheeses to cured meats through to rice and pasta: for all these products the government, by signing a number of decrees, confirms the obligation to indicate on labels the provenance of the main ingredient as of 1 January 2022. For Coldiretti the issue is fundamental to the defence of made in Italy, but also to guaranteeing greater transparency of purchases for consumers.
"These measures represent a decisive step towards preventing low-quality products from abroad that do not meet Italy's strict standards from being passed off as made in Italy", said Coldiretti president Ettore Prandini, who added: "In a difficult time for the economy we must bring to market the added value of traceability by making it compulsory to indicate the origin of all foods on the label, meeting the demands of Italian and European consumers. There are 1.1 million signatures collected as part of the European Union citizens' initiative "Eat original! unmask your food" promoted by Coldiretti, Campagna amica and other European organisations for the extension of the labelling obligation with the indication of origin on all foods".
Across Europe, in recent days, public consultations have been opened on the revision of food labelling. And the indication of origin is one of the issues at the centre of the debate. Furthermore, the European Union, as part of the Farm to fork strategy, aims to introduce within the coming year a single labelling system for all member states to be placed on the front of packaging of food products indicating their nutritional values. At present the two proposals mainly under consideration — already used on a range of food products — are the Nutriscore system and Nutrinform Battery, around which a veritable labelling war is being fought.
Nutriscore, devised by the French, is the so-called traffic light label that classifies each product on a scale of five colours and five letters based on the content of salt, sugar and fats per 100 grams of product, without taking into account the quantity consumed daily. Nutrinform, on the other hand, is the battery label proposed by Italy that indicates the nutritional values of a food in relation to daily requirements. Compared to Nutriscore it is more complex, but also more comprehensive. And less misleading.
Indeed, opponents of the Nutriscore system — first and foremost the Italian government and Italian producers — argue that, by its very design, this label unfairly penalises certain made in Italy products, while failing to do the same for ultra-processed products. Extra virgin olive oil, for example, which is rich in good fats, is classified by the Nutriscore system as less healthy than a margarine containing hydrogenated fats.
At present, according to the survey "Le etichette fronte pacco in 7 Paesi: Nutriscore vs Nutrinform", conducted by the Osservatorio Waste Watcher, among the 7,000 respondents in 7 countries (the United States, Russia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy) Nutrinform received broader and more cross-cutting support than Nutriscore, in terms of clarity, simplicity, usefulness, purchasing awareness and completeness of information.
The public consultation on labelling also covers the question of the expiry date. With the aim of reducing food waste, Europe would like to revise the wording "best before" but, Coldiretti states, the risk is that of penalising food quality. The minimum durability date was introduced as a guarantee for consumers because it indicates the date up to which a food's organoleptic, taste and nutritional characteristics are fully preserved.
The labelling consultations are open and all it takes is filling in a questionnaire to have your say.