News
FSAI announces consultation
22 Jul 2016The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has announced a national consultation to seek views and opinions on EU regulations that allow for some prepacked food products to be exempt from displaying nutrition information.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has announced a national consultation to seek views and opinions on EU regulations that allow for some prepacked food products to be exempt from displaying nutrition information. The consultation is in conjunction with the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. From 16 December 2016, EU Regulations will require that most prepacked food products must provide mandatory nutritional information to enable consumers make more informed choices when purchasing food. However, the Regulation does provide a number of exceptions*, one of which is the manufacture of small quantities of foods that are supplied directly by the manufacturer to the consumer or to local retailers. This consultation seeks opinions from interested parties to assist define ‘small quantities of product’.
EU Regulation (No1169/2011) on the provision of food information to the consumer provides a list of foods that are exempt from mandatory nutritional labelling. Included in this list is ‘food, including handcrafted food, directly supplied by the manufacturer of small quantities of products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer.’The EU has not defined ‘small quantities of products’ or ‘local’ in the legislation and have advised that each Member State must provide a definition in their local market. Irish law has an accepted definition for ‘local’, however; no such precedent exists to define ‘small quantities’. The primary aim of this consultation is to determine such a definition to provide certainty and assist compliance among food businesses when the legislation comes into effect.According to Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, this is an opportunity for all interested parties to inform the FSAI of their view on what they would see as an acceptable definition. It could be based on a variety of criteria, including the weight of the products, the amount of sales or indeed the number of units, so it is important for those who have an opinion to give their input now.“We actively encourage all interested parties to submit their views via the online consultation, so that their opinion and position can be taken into consideration when the definition is being formulated,” she said. “The views submitted will assist in making a more informed decision in relation to the final definition for ‘small quantities’ in Ireland. This definition will be ultimately transposed into Irish law and is likely to have an impact on food producers and retailers”. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to the consumer applies to all prepacked food. Foods sold without packaging or packed on the same premises as it is sold are considered non-prepacked and therefore exempt.