Country of origin labelling should be made mandatory for meat and milk, MEPs reiterate once again in a non-binding resolution voted on Thursday. Mandatory labelling would help improve consumer confidence in food products by making the food supply chain more transparent, they say.
Labels stating the country of origin or place of provenance should be made mandatory for all kinds of drinking milk, dairy products and meat products, say MEPs, adding that the EU Commission and member states should also consider extending it to other single-ingredient foods, or those with one main ingredient.
To better inform EU consumers, in the wake of the horse meat scandal and other food fraud cases, and improve transparency throughout the food chain, country of origin labelling should also be made mandatory for meat in processed foods, says the text, approved by 422 votes to 159, with 68 abstentions.
MEPs point out that:
84% of EU citizens consider it necessary to indicate the origin of milk (2013 Eurobarometer survey),
88% consider such labelling necessary for meat (other than beef, swine, sheep, goat and poultry meat, which are already covered), and
more than 90% consider such labelling important for processed foods (2013 European Commission report).
They note that the Commission’s report found that the operating costs of making country of origin labelling mandatory for the meats under its remit would be “relatively minor”
