Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-10-Speech-2-489"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20090310.35.2-489"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"− I definitely think that European farmers can be proud of their standards and the Commission favours any initiative that helps farmers, not least in the livestock sector, to communicate with consumers about the origin of products.
I am aware that, during the public consultation on the Green Paper on the quality of agricultural products, stakeholders in the sheep meat sector have advocated compulsory origin labelling. In May 2009, the Commission will issue a communication where we will seek to strike the right balance between simplification, transparency and product specification. A conference organised by the Czech Presidency will take place on this issue on Thursday and Friday this week, and I am sure we will have a lively and interesting discussion on labelling. It is important. It is not always easy, because nobody wants to read a novel on the back of food in supermarkets, so I think we should try to find a balance and the right solution. I am happy with all the comments that we have already had on the Green Paper.
As the honourable Member states, there is currently no specific EU legislation dealing with the issue of origin labelling for the sheep meat sector.
Of course, the general internal market rules about labelling and advertising of foodstuffs also apply to sheep meat. These rules require mandatory origin labelling in cases where consumers might be misled regarding the true origin or provenance of the foodstuffs.
It is not the Commission’s view that there is a general problem of consumers being misled about the origin of sheep meat. Therefore, the recent Commission proposal for a regulation on food information to consumers does not extend the list to which compulsory origin labelling applies.
I would like to underline that the origin labelling for beef and beef products is a special case, and I think we all keep in mind from where it came, because it was a spin-off of the BSE crisis. Therefore, in order to rebuild consumer confidence in beef, it was necessary to make more information available to consumers by clear labelling of the product, including its origin.
It is also important to recall that already, the existing legislation makes it possible to put in place voluntary labelling of sheep meat. If the whole supply chain could agree on such a labelling system, it could add value to their products to provide consumers with extra information.
For the internal market to function smoothly, the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on food information to consumers introduced a framework for voluntary origin indications.
In particular, as regards sheep meat, when origin is mentioned, information on the different locations of birth, rearing and slaughter of the animal shall be provided. If these production steps took place in different Member States, all origins should be indicated.
Looking further ahead, the Commission is considering whether all different agricultural products should be labelled to show the place of farming and specifically whether EU farming requirements have been followed."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples