It is not mandatory under current or new legislation to provide an origin statement for most food products, though such statements are often voluntarily provided. There are certain situations where that information must be provided.

This whitepaper by Campden BRI looks at the legislation in detail, but in summary:

Article 26 of the Food Information to Consumers Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 (FIC) states that it is mandatory to state the origin of foods subject to product specific controls, such as minced meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables, honey, olive oil, beef and veal.

It is a legal requirement to correct any implied origin made on a product through statements, pictorial presentation, symbols or terms, if the origin given is not a true reflection of where the product is from.

A new regulation: Regulation (EU) No. 2018/775 requires the country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient in a food to be provided where the origin of the primary ingredient is different from an “origin indication” given on a food label.

Campden BRI provide this handy flow chart shown below to help producers understand this new legislation.

Read the full white paper by clicking here.