Indication of the country of origin of food – what changes will the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775 bring?

The new Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2018/775 regulates the indication of country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient of a food according to Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011.

According to the above mentioned regulation, the country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient must be indicated if it is not the same as the given country of origin or the given place of provenance of the food.

For example, if “Made in Germany” is indicated on a label, the origin of the primary ingredient must also be indicated if it is not Germany. This can be done, for example, by indicating the relevant country, or by indicating “EU”, “non-EU” or “EU and non-EU” or by declaring “(name of the primary ingredient) do/does not originate from (the country of origin or the place of provenance of the food)”.

The indication shall meet the minimum font size according to Article 13(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (x-height of at least 1.2 mm). In addition, it must be at least 75 % of the x-height of the indication origin of the food and be within the same field of vision as the indication of the origin of the food.

Regulation (EU) 2018/775 will apply from 1 April 2020.

Foods placed on the market or labelled prior to the date of application may be marketed until the stocks are exhausted.

The above information are excerpts from Regulation (EU) 2018/775. Read the entire Regulation here:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R0775&qid=1560247431459&from=DE

Bremen, 11.06.2019