Mandatory origin-labelling schemes in Member States

In 2018 eight EU Member States had launched, or were about to launch, national mandatory labelling schemes for certain food products, mainly for milk and milk used in dairy products, but also meat used in processed foods. The regulatory basis for these national measures was the Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, which allowed Member States to adopt additional national measures concerning the mandatory labelling of foodstuffs, as long as these were justified by reasons specifically defined in the regulation.

The European Parliament had been supporting origin labelling in several resolutions. Consumer organisations have advocated it as well, while many industry stakeholders had highlighted the practical difficulties and costs it would bring. The European Commission had reiterated its position, based on its reports exploring the issue, that voluntary origin labelling was the best option at European level.