France
Mandatory indication of origin for meat served outside
Two Wiener Schnitzel are served in a restaurant. Photo: Christian Bruna/epa/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Where does the meat on the plate come from? Will people in French restaurants soon no longer have to ask themselves this question?
In the future, guests in French restaurants, canteens or canteens will have the right to know where the meat on their plate comes from.
From Tuesday, chicken, pork and lamb dishes served abroad must be traceable in which country the animals were raised and slaughtered, according to the Paris Ministry of Agriculture. According to a spokeswoman, this information must appear directly on the menu. Asking shouldn’t be necessary. It should also be clear whether the goods are fresh, chilled or frozen.
For beef, this information has been mandatory in France since 2002. In the case of chicken, pork and lamb, they were previously only prescribed for sale in supermarkets and butchers. The new regulation is a response to the increased transparency expectations of consumers, it said. In addition, they want to increase the proportion of meat produced in France, for example in school canteens. So far, half of the meat served there comes from abroad.
Consumer advocates want a similar rule in Germany
With the regulations, France goes beyond EU requirements. At EU level, indication of origin is only mandatory for certain prepackaged and unpackaged foods. However, as soon as the products are processed – as in restaurants or canteens – this labeling obligation no longer applies, as the Federal Association of Consumer Centers reports. “In order for consumers to be able to reliably identify the origin of food, there needs to be an EU-wide, binding labeling of origin for all food, including all ingredients in processed products,” the association demands.
The Federal Ministry of Food said on request that they wanted to work for an EU-wide regulation. This is advantageous “compared to a patchwork quilt of national regulations” that may not stand up in court. As part of the so-called farm-to-fork strategy (e.g.: from the farm to the plate), the EU Commission should submit a proposal for an extension of the mandatory labeling of origin for certain foods by the fourth quarter. If no satisfactory solution can be found at EU level, national solutions are reserved.