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FoodDrinkEurope protests to EU over Italian labelling

19 Dec 2017

Following the recent adoption by Italy of decrees on mandatory country-of-origin labelling, FoodDrinkEurope has proceeded with the filing of an official complaint to the European Commission.

Following the recent adoption by Italy of decrees on mandatory country-of-origin labelling, as well as the country’s rules on the mandatory indication of the place of production, FoodDrinkEurope has proceeded with the filing of an official complaint to the European Commission. As the Italian government adopted these measures without prior notification to the EU, and given that their compliance with EU law is questioned, FoodDrinkEurope views its complaint as the only way forward to ensure EU Single Market rules are respected.

Whereas FoodDrinkEurope says its members remain fully committed to transparency, including providing origin information based on market demand and feasibility, they view with concern the current trends to re-nationalise certain rules and policies in the food and drink sector. National measures on mandatory origin labelling recently introduced by eight member states are, the organisation says, already negatively impacting trade of food products in the single market.

As the organisation representing the food and drink manufacturing sector, FoodDrinkEurope says it stands firmly behind the single market and the EU project. 25 years of EU single market have, says FoodDrinkEurope, brought significant benefits to both producers and consumers; thanks to deeply integrated European food supply chains and the possibility to trade freely, the industry has been able to ensure a constant availability of safe, diverse, high quality food for consumers across the EU, at affordable prices. It has also, notes FoodDrinkEurope, spurred growth and increased competition in the food and drink sector.

With a view to preserving a well-functioning single market for food and drinks, FoodDrinkEurope hopes that its initiative will result in concrete and effective follow-up actions by the European Commission.