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France Introduces Country of Origin Labelling For Meat and Dairy Products
Source: French Agriculture Ministry
France introduced mandatory country of origin labelling for all meat in ready meal products, milk and dairy products on 1 January.
The French agriculture ministry said that it is a major opportunity to ensure the recognition of the quality of French produce.
The ministry added that it is also a concrete step forward to provide the consumer with better information that is already seen in the mandatory country of origin labelling on fresh meat, fresh fruits and vegetables and honey.
The measure is initially being implemented on an experimental basis for two years, and follows discussions between agriculture minister Stéphane Le Foll with the European Commission.
Labelling is compulsory for ready meal products that have more than eight per cent meat in the ingredients and 50 per cent milk in dairy products.
The labels will have to include the country of birth, rearing and slaughter of meat animals and the origin of eh countries where the milk was sourced, packaged or processed for dairy products.
If all the steps have occurred in one country, then the label will only require the single country of origin.
#While the labelling regulations comes in for new products on the market from 1 January, the market has until the end of March for products already on the shelves to be cleared.
