The French Government proposes the use of common labeling to know the origin of ingredients

The French Government is going to propose to industrialists and distribution groups the creation of a common voluntary labeling with the countries of origin of the ingredients of food products, with the idea of transposing it in the future to the entire European Union ( EU).

“More transparency is needed in so-called processed products” and that means “giving all the information to the consumer” about all the ingredients that make them up, explained the delegate minister responsible for Consumption and Tourism, Olivia Grégoire.

In an interview with the Sud Radio station, Grégoire indicated that, following the example of Nutriscore, he wants to work with industrialists and distributors to “imagine an origin-score that can be deployed in Europe in 2025.” “You have to tell the truth,” he summarized, “so that the consumer is clear about things and has the information. And in the end, the consumer is the one who decides, if he wants to and if he can.”

Its intention is to bring together the aforementioned agents in mid-March to agree on a common labeling, with the idea that if the system is very widely adopted, this may have consequences on the composition of the processed products and favor the use of raw materials of origin. French.

This idea is based on what has happened with the Nutriscore, which offers visible ratings using letters and colors based on the nutritional quality of the ingredients, and which has led many industrialists to change the recipe to improve the grade of their products. . And this is thanks to the fact that manufacturers have agreed to apply this system to 60% of their food products.

Similarly, the French Government is confident that by specifying the country of origin of ingredients, consumer preference for domestic foods would lead these manufacturers to introduce more of those foods, instead of prioritizing only the highest prices. low. According to Grégoire's cabinet, the labeling system has to be simple and, if possible, it should be able to be put into practice quickly, perhaps this summer.

Thus, France could take it to the negotiating table of the European Union, which must review the labeling rules in the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025. The minister's cabinet insisted that it does not want to make “a moral judgment ” about the origin of the products, but rather they want to present them “objectively.” But to a question about whether a categorization from best to worst is proposed depending on whether a product is of French, European or extra-European origin, the answer was that it will be discussed with the parties.