The European Parliament adopted by 368 votes to 207, with 20 abstentions a resolution tabled by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 as regards the indication of the country of origin or place of provenance for fresh, chilled and frozen meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry. Parliament considered that the Commission implementing regulation exceeded the implementing powers conferred on the Commission under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, and it called on the Commission to withdraw the implementing regulation.
It recalled that Article 26(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 required country of origin labelling for meat falling within the Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes listed in Annex XI to that Regulation (which includes fresh, chilled or frozen meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry), and that the application of Article 26(2) is subject to the adoption of implementing acts, hence the adoption of the Commission implementing regulation in question. Those implementing acts must lay down the manner of indicating the country of origin or place of provenance for meat referred to in Article 26(2)(b).
Under the Commission’s draft regulation, labels would state only the countries of rearing and slaughter. The Commission did not propose mandatory labelling of the place of birth, even though Parliament had repeatedly requested it. Parliament also pointed out that under the Food Information to Consumers Regulation, food information should not be misleading as to the characteristics of the food and, in particular, as to its country of origin or place of provenance. It also noted that indication of origin had been mandatory for beef and beef products in the Union as a consequence of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis, and Union rules for beef labelling had been in place since 1 January 2002. Those labelling requirements already included place of birth, rearing and slaughter.
Members stated that, in order to provide consumers with accurate information on the origin of meat, the indication of the places of birth, rearing and slaughter should appear on the food label, thereby allowing consumers to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the animal welfare standards and environmental impact relating to a meat product. Accordingly, they called on the Commission to draw up a revised version of the implementing regulation, which should include a mandatory labelling requirement for the place of birth, as well as those of rearing and slaughter, for unprocessed meat of pigs, poultry, sheep and goats in accordance with the existing beef origin labelling legislation.
Furthermore, the Commission was asked to remove any derogation in the implementing regulation for minced meat and trimmings. Members considered that applying an ‘EU’ or ’non-EU’ label to minced meat and trimmings was almost meaningless and might set an undesirable precedent, especially regarding any future labelling of the country of origin for meat used as an ingredient. Origin labelling requirements for beef showed that more precise indication of the origin of minced meat and trimmings was both feasible and appropriate in order to ensure consumer information and traceability.