2024-05-10 06:30:13
To ensure more transparency, labeling concerning the origin of ingredients in prepared dishes will be available within a few months.
On April 11, the Minister Delegate in charge of Business, Tourism and Consumption, Olivia Grégoire, announced that “ more than forty well-known brands » are committed, starting this summer, to indicating the origin of the ingredients making up their processed food products.
It was in response to the agricultural crisis, revealing the distress of farmers, that the government announced, on February 22, the implementation of this new labeling. This aims to justify the higher prices of products of French origin and thus allow an increase in the income of producers.
Following this announcement, manufacturers and distributors in the agri-food sector, as well as consumer associations, were summoned to Bercy last March to lay the foundations for a approach called Origine-Info. By May, specifications defining in particular the degree of precision of the labeling must be finalized.
A glaring lack of traceability
Current legislation only requires the indication of origin for raw products such as flour, fruit, vegetables or honey.
In 2017, the horsemeat lasagna scandalled to a first step forward for the traceability of processed products by making the indication of the origin of meat in prepared meals and of milk in dairy products. However, after a short-lived experiment, le lobbying ended up winning his case by obtaining the lifting of the obligation.
The opacity of information dominates, as revealed an investigation by UFC-Que Choisir which demonstrates that the origin of 69% of the ingredients of processed products is not mentioned.
Even if initiatives come from certain brands such as Intermarché which has set up a Franco Score or E.Leclerc who decided to affix the geographical origin on its products, the requirement for clarity must be a collective concern and not the responsibility of individuals. Especially since the origin of products is a major criterion for consumers. They are, in fact, 86% would like to have this information at the time of their purchase.
An explicit logo for an informed choice
The “Origine-Info” logo will aim to fill these gaps by providing a precise indication concerning the proportion of French ingredients present in the dishes prepared for the main raw materials. The logo will be developed in consultation with consumers and will be unveiled during the month of May.
Although the original score is inspired by the Nutri-Score, the color scale assigning a letter rating (from A to E) was not retained. A first sketch of the logo takes the form of a diagram divided into three, with a part on the French origin, a part on the European Union origin and a part on the origin outside the European Union.
Ce prototype was created and tested last September by the En Vérité association bringing together around sixty agro-industrial brands. By affixing it to the packaging of some products, the collective was able to study the impact of information on the origin of the product on consumer choice. Despite higher prices compared to their competitors, sales of products using French raw materials have doubled, proving that consumers are willing to spend more to support farmers.
A process that will be optional
The affixing of the future indicator will be based, as is the case for the Nutri-Score, on voluntary action to remain compliant with European law. A decision criticized by consumer associations who fear that manufacturers purchasing their raw materials abroad will not play the game. The logo would then be incidental since the French origin of a product, considered an asset for sales, is already spontaneously displayed by the manufacturers. Nevertheless, the success experienced in France by Nutri-Scorewith almost 1,500 brands involved, allows us to envisage the same destiny for Origin-score.
It remains to be seen whether the information provided is authentic. note that out of 2,000 checks carried out, 683 establishments were not in compliance regarding the French origin of their food products according to the DGCCRF[1].
[1] Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention
1715358978
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