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2015
20 May
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Origin indications are of high value to the dairy
sector, but need to remain voluntary
Title
The European Dairy Association (EDA), the voice of the milk processing industry across Europe,
welcomes the report of the European Commission on a reflection on options for origin labelling
for milk and dairy products and supports the conclusions to not make it mandatory at any cost.
EDA supports the wide range of voluntary indications of origin on dairy products where the production
process allows for it, in order to ensure that the needs of those consumers who wish to receive and
adapt their behaviour accordingly are being met. On the contrary, mandatory labelling of any origin,
be it of the ‘place of milking’ or any step of the production process could prove to be exceedingly
burdensome and costly; the additional incurred costs could have an impact on the cost of food for
consumers, and may reduce farmer’s revenues.
The Food Information to Consumers Regulation requested the Commission to evaluate the
possibilities for mandatory indications of milk, milk used in dairy products and certain types of meat.
Today’s report of the Commission1 is based on a study undertaken by an external consultancy2. This
evaluation has looked into liquid drinking milk and different dairy products and conducted case studies
in nine member states of the EU. The report of the Commission looks into different options for labelling
the origin; first of all the diversity of voluntary indications that result from the current status quo. Then
different options of mandatory indications have been evaluated: looking at liquid milk or milk in dairy
products, and for each the possibility to give information on the place of milking or on the first step of
processing of the raw milk. The report also looks at the interest of the consumer to know an origin and
the relating willingness to pay for such information, which is generally deemed low. The higher the
detail of information that could be demanded, the higher the complexity and costs.
www.euromilk.org/eda
Avenue d’Auderghem 22-28
1040 Brussels
Belgium
The report concludes that “for dairy products there would be an uneven impact on producers, making
it more burdensome for some than for others. It also appears that consumers are not willing to pay
more for the additional information. The report therefore suggests that the existing options for
voluntary labelling could address some consumer demands while retaining flexibility for member
states and food operators.”3
+32 2 549 50 40
eda@euromilk.org
1 http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/milk/origin-labelling/com-2015-205_en.pdf
@EDA_Dairy 2
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/external-studies/milk-meat-origin-labelling-2014_en.htm
3 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-15-5011_fr.htm
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An EDA statement clarifies the myths and facts around origin labelling, as to assure that origin
labelling is not linked to food safety or quality, or would have any positive effect on the environmental
performance of a dairy product. The Commission report highlights similar conclusions based on the
external study undertaken.
EDA had expressed its concern on the costs and burden of possible mandatory indications of origin
several times during the process of drafting of the Food Information Regulation. EDA now looks
forward to both European Parliament and Council having a reasoned exchange and to accept the
conclusions of the report of the Commission and the underlying study, as demanded by the colegislators.
ABOUT THE EUROPEAN DAIRY ASSOCIATION
The European Dairy Association represents the interests of dairy processors in the European Union.
The membership of EDA consists of the associations of dairy processors in EU Member States.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
ALEXANDER ANTON
EUROPEAN DAIRY ASSOCIATION
+32 2 549 50 43
+32 475 59 04 22
aanton@euromilk.org
Richard Gibson
Advisor EDA – European Dairy Association
+32 2 549 50 48
rgibson@euromilk.org
www.euromilk.org/eda
Avenue d’Auderghem 22-28
1040 Brussels
Belgium
+32 2 549 50 40
eda@euromilk.org
@EDA_Dairy
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