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Food labels

Italian consumers pay more and more attention to the information reported in labels and to the quality of the products they are purchasing.

In particular, in the food sector, the attention to the origin of starting materials and of the product, the respect for the environment in the food manufacturing as well as the general characteristics of the product seem to have grown.

In some cases, these are needs related to specific consumer’s problems/diseases. An example is the case of the coeliac disease, for which there is no cure, only the avoidance of products containing gluten. Companies can also decide to request the gluten-free certification allowing to print the relevant symbol on the labels of concerned products.

Also for lactose, it is required to inform the consumers with the correct wording based on the presence of this allergen in foods.

There are also other indications and certifications whose demand by consumers is increasing, such as the organic certification, but that are not related to any particular consumers’ issue.

The organic method is in fact a productive model that is sustainable for environment, and products deriving from it contributes to protect nature, territory and animals, meeting at the same time the growing demand from consumers for food manufactured in the respect of the environment.

Certified companies have to include the community logo on the packs of their organic products, the code of the control body that released the organic certification and the code of the controlled operator.

Moreover, it is also required to specify the place where the agricultural raw materials were cultivated and which the product is made of. In this case, the operator can decide whether to report EU, non EU, EU/non EU in general, or to specify or add the country (in case the organic cultivation of raw materials takes place in the same country). All this information shall appear in the same visual field of the label.

Along with organic products (for which at least 95% of agriculture ingredients is organic) there are also products with organic ingredients containing a share of organic agriculture ingredients less than 95%. For this type of products, it is also required to apply for a certification, but the use of the community logo is not allowed.

Another indication to be reported in the label – in this case in compliance with the regulations – is the one regarding the country of origin or place of origin of the primary ingredient of a food.

In this case, however, the methods should be assessed on a case by case basis, based on the product and of its presentation (in this case the presence of voluntary certifications such as DOP, IGP could also satisfy the mandatory requirement).

Written by: Federica Montozzi

Foto di BRRT da Pixabay