Source: European Parliament
21.10.2024
Question for written answer E-002194/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Esther Herranz García (PPE), Dolors Montserrat (PPE), Herbert Dorfmann (PPE), Céline Imart (PPE), Paulo Do Nascimento Cabral (PPE), Daniel Buda (PPE), Rosa Estaràs Ferragut (PPE), Susana Solís Pérez (PPE), Antonio López-Istúriz White (PPE), Adrián Vázquez Lázara (PPE), Salvatore De Meo (PPE), Gabriel Mato (PPE), Isabel Benjumea Benjumea (PPE), Nicolás Pascual De La Parte (PPE), Raúl de la Hoz Quintano (PPE), Elena Nevado del Campo (PPE), Maravillas Abadía Jover (PPE), Pablo Arias Echeverría (PPE), Carmen Crespo Díaz (PPE), Pilar del Castillo Vera (PPE), Borja Giménez Larraz (PPE)
The Court of Justice of the European Union recently ruled in case C-438/23[1] that the criteria established by Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011[2] sufficiently protect consumers against misleading information even in cases of total substitution of the only component or ingredient that a consumer may expect to find in a food product referred to by a common or descriptive name that contains certain customary terms.
Problems have arisen from the use of customary terms typically associated with meat products, such as ‘burger’, ‘steak’ or ‘sausage’, to refer to vegetarian or vegan foods.
This judgment could lead to the fragmentation of the single market as it may allow Member States to establish differing legal definitions for such terms.
- 1.Is the Commission considering drafting a legislative proposal to harmonise the use of these terms at EU level?
- 2.Given that we are awaiting the proposal on front-of-pack food labeling, is the Commission considering including this issue in that proposal?
Submitted: 21.10.2024
- [1] Judgment of 4 October 2024 – Protéines France and Others, C-438/23, ECLI:EU:C:2024:826.
- [2] Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/oj).