Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (the FIC Regulation) entered into force on 13 December 2011, though its application is a gradual process: the specific requirements concerning the designation of ‘minced meat’ (Part B of Annex VI) have applied since 1 January 2014, while the Big Day is considered to be 13 December 2014 – mainly since this is when most of the FIC provisions started to apply.
What does the date of application mean in practice?
Foods placed on the market after 12 December 2014 should be compliant with the FIC Regulation. However, rules relating to mandatory nutritional labelling for processed food will only apply from 13 December 2016.
Many food manufacturers have elected not to wait that long and have implemented most of the FIC rules in one move. Thus, one need not look far on the market to find labels that display nutrition information in accordance to the new rules. Food business operators who decide to declare nutrients on a voluntary basis between 13 December 2014 and 12 December 2016 must do so in compliance with the FIC Regulation’s rules on presentation and content.
Food supplements are exempted from the mandatory nutrition declaration. However, any nutrition declaration provided voluntarily must comply with FIC.
Particular care is due for foods placed on the market after 12 December 2014 whose labels bear health or nutrition claims. In such case the mandatory nutrition declaration must comply with FIC. The same goes for fortified foods.
Tansitional measures
According to Article 3(3) of FIC “When food information law establishes new requirements, a transitional period after the entry into force of the new requirements shall be granted, except in duly justified cases”. This transitional period has been defined in Article 54(1), pursuant to which, “[f]oods placed on the market or labelled prior to 13 December 2014 which do not comply with the requirements of this Regulation may be marketed until the stocks of the foods are exhausted”.
In practice this means that products placed on the market or labelled before 13 December 2014 may be sold until the stocks are exhausted, however long it takes for this to happen. Foods with a long expiry date, such as some food supplements or dried and canned products, may remain on the shelves for several years.
The moment when food is placed on the market
Regulation 178/2002, which lays down the general principles and requirements of food law, defines ‘placing on the market’ as “holding of food or feed for the purpose of sale, including offering for sale or any other form of transfer, whether free of charge or not, and the sale, distribution, and other forms of transfer themselves”. Therefore, for the purpose of the implementation of FIC, the concept of ‘placing on the market’ also covers food products which have already been produced (before 13 December 2014) or imported and are being held with a view to sale or supply free of charge. This includes foods held in warehouses for the purpose of sale, but not foods which are still under processing, or raw materials provided by suppliers.
------------------
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers changes the EU’s legal regime on food labelling, advertising and promotion, replacing two EU directives.
As with all regulations, FIC is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. This should mean that food information provisions are the same in all EU countries. Member States are responsible for enforcement of food law, as well as monitoring and verifying the compliance of food business operators.
Next Alert: How FIC changes the use of health claims
