May 2020
Primary Food Processors (PFP), FoodDrinkEurope and EuroCommerce jointly developed guidance on the application of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775, which establishes rules for indicating the country of origin or place of provenance of a food when that origin differs from that of its primary ingredient.
The guidance aims to support food business operators, policymakers and national authorities by providing practical interpretations of Article 26(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and clarifying when additional origin information must be provided to consumers.
The guidance explains that two conditions must be met simultaneously for the regulation to apply. First, the origin or place of provenance of the food must be indicated either voluntarily or through mandatory labelling requirements. Second, the origin of the primary ingredient must differ from the declared origin of the food.
According to the document, a primary ingredient is generally an ingredient that represents more than 50% of a food or is commonly associated with the product by consumers.
The guidance provides examples where origin disclosure requirements may apply, including products marketed with national references, geographical indications, maps, flags or statements such as “Made in Italy” when the primary ingredient originates elsewhere.
The document also clarifies several situations that are generally excluded from the regulation. These include registered trademarks, protected geographical indications, business names and addresses, identification marks required by EU legislation, and certain customary or generic food names that consumers recognise as product styles rather than indications of origin.
Examples cited include product names such as Wiener Schnitzel, American Pancakes, French Nougat, Camembert and Cheddar, which may be understood as traditional product names rather than geographical origin claims.
The guidance further outlines the different ways operators may communicate the origin of primary ingredients. These range from broad geographic references such as “EU” or “non-EU” to specific countries, regions, fishing areas or sub national locations.
The document also discusses interpretation issues relating to single ingredient products, foods without a clearly identifiable primary ingredient, geographical symbols and brand names containing geographic references.
According to the guidance, origin information should always be assessed in the context of the overall packaging presentation and whether consumers could reasonably interpret the information as an indication of origin.
The participating organisations emphasise that origin labelling requirements should be applied consistently across the European Union and in a way that avoids misleading consumers while preserving legal certainty for businesses.
The guidance was jointly developed by Primary Food Processors (PFP), FoodDrinkEurope and EuroCommerce to support the consistent implementation of EU food information legislation.
