From 5 April, the obligation to indicate, on the food label, the location and address of the manufacturing or packaging plant. In fact, the Legislative Decree of 15 September 2017 n. 145, 180 days after publication in the Official Gazette no. 235 of 7 October 2017. A standard - underlines Coldiretti - supported by consumers who for 84% believe it is essential to know, in addition to the origin of the ingredients, also the place where the transformation process took place, according to the online consultation of the Ministry of Agricultural Policies.
With the obligation also come the relative sanctions, in case of non-compliance, which go from 2.000 euro to 15.000 euro, due to the failure to indicate the location of the establishment or if the actual location was not highlighted if the company has several establishments. If the food sector operator has several establishments, it is permitted - explains Coldiretti - to indicate all the establishments provided that the actual one is highlighted by punching or other identifying mark, while in the case of products not intended for the final consumer but for mass catering ( eg restaurants, canteens) or to the company that carries out another processing phase, it is possible to limit oneself to indicating the headquarters of the plant only on the accompanying commercial documents.
The obligation - recalls Coldiretti - was already enshrined in Italian law (Legislative Decree 109/1992, now replaced by Legislative Decree 231/2017) but had been repealed following the reorganization of the European legislation on food labeling. Italy has established its reintroduction in order to guarantee, in addition to correct and complete information to the consumer, better and immediate traceability of foods by the control bodies and, consequently, more effective health protection
Together with the processing plant - says Coldiretti - it should be planned as soon as possible the mandatory indication on the label for all foods, including the origin of the ingredients which is by far considered the determining element for purchasing decisions by 96% of consumers. OROver 1/4 of Italian spending is still anonymous , notes Coldiretti, with the label that does not indicate the origin of the food, from cured meats to fruit juices to rabbit meat. Two out of three hams sold today in Italy come from pigs reared abroad without this being clearly highlighted on the label where it is not yet mandatory to indicate the origin, as is also the case for the river of 200 million kilos of foreign orange juice it crosses borders and ends up in drinks unbeknownst to consumers because the label - Coldiretti underlines again - does not say so.
The aim of the association is to give the possibility at European level to extend the obligation to indicate the origin on the label to all foods after Italy, also joined by France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Lithuania and Romania , has already adopted national decrees to regulate it in some products such as milk and derivatives, wheat in pasta and rice. A choice that - Coldiretti highlights - prompted the European Commission to launch a public consultation four years late on the methods of indicating the origin on the label as required by the European regulation on information to consumers n.1169/2011, which came into force in December 2013. "Now it is necessary to ensure that the Community legislation really responds to the interests of consumers and not to the pressure exerted by the lobbies of false Made in Italy who do not give up and want to continue to deceive citizens by trying to curb the entry into our country rules of transparency and great civility are in force” he affirms the president of Coldiretti Roberto Moncalvo.
