The European Commission has launched a request for tenders to deliver a study on mandatory origin labelling for milk, milk used as an ingredient in dairy products and unprocessed meat other than beef, pig, poultry sheep and goat meat.
Currently, mandatory rules on origin labelling exist for several agricultural products, such as beef, honey, eggs, imported poultry meat, fruit and vegetables, bananas, olive oil, wine and hops.
In particular for beef, the EU legislation requires the indication of the country of birth, fattening and slaughter or an indication of one origin where all three above-mentioned stages of the life of an animal took place in one country.
The beef origin labelling created consumer expectations, according to the EC, and, according to the impact assessment carried out in the context of the Regulation of Food Information to Consumers, origin of meat appears to be a major consumer concern. It was, in fact, decided by the European Parliament and the Council to impose a mandatory indication of the country of origin or place of provenance for the other types of widely consumed meat: pig, poultry, sheep and goat meat. For meat of pigs, poultry, sheep and goats, the impact assessment of labelling of origin is in the process of being presented by the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council.
The main objective of this study is to collect the data that would allow the Commission to assess the need for consumers to be informed regarding the origin of milk, milk ingredients and unprocessed meats. As a second step, the feasibility of providing the mandatory indication of the country of origin will be examined, and the costs and benefits of the introduction of such measures will be analysed in respect of the internal market and the international trade.
The study will examine and quantify burdens and costs on the supply chains, in particular Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), farmers, processors, traders, retailers at national and European levels, trade, consumers, administration, checks and controls for expressing the origin of the milk and milk used as an ingredient in dairy products and of other types of meat. The study will therefore assess the volume and related costs of administrative burdens on the whole chain.
According to the study specification published by the EC, the impact of possibly implementing such origin labelling should be assessed considering the following areas:
• Consumer behaviour and purchasing power: the study shall screen the latest available information on consumer behaviour as regards different types of origin indication given on the foods in question as well as the level of willingness to pay for more or less extensive additional information related to origin of milk and milk used as an ingredient in dairy products and of other types of meat in the context of evaluating the real consumer purchasing power in the current global economic context.
• Food supply chain: the economic impact on the food supply chain should be assessed in the context of costs and feasibility of applying origin labelling for milk and milk used as an ingredient in dairy products and for other types of meat. Tracing foods mixed from different origins must also be evaluated.
• Competitiveness of enterprises, including costs and price, capacity to innovate and international competition.
• Impact on internal market and trade with third countries: it shall be analysed from the perspective of possible distortion of the intra-EU and global trade flows due to additional labelling requirements. Labelling systems applicable in the main trading worldwide must also be studied.
• Administrative burden: the impact on the administrative burden on producers, collectors, processors, traders, retailers and national authorities, as well as the costs of strengthening the checks and controls shall be studied. This work should be carried out following the methodology established by the European Commission. The study should evaluate the situation and possible impact of origin labelling of meats, milk and milk used as an ingredient in dairy products in the EU and it should also include a number of case studies in different sectors and Member States.
