A European overview on Regulation (EU) no 1169/2011 after the entry into force

Several years have passed since the date of application of the EU Regulation on food information to consumers (FIC), but the discussion that it has been generating since the beginning has not yet come to an end and seems actually to freshen day after day. If the first elements of concern were on the provisions on mandatory particulars already fully regulated by the EU act, in the last years the debate moved on those areas that have not yet been totally defined, either because of the lack of the implementing acts of the European Commission (information on the possible and unintentional presence in food of substances or products causing allergies or intolerances; products suitable for vegans or vegetarians) or because the adopted regulations did not help in clarifying them, while adding further doubts, such as in the regulation on the mandatory indication of the origin of the primary ingredient. Starting mainly from the recent activities of the working group on Regulation (EU) no 1169/2011 (food origin; Food Labelling Information System Database; dual quality and labelling; alcohol labelling; EU guidance on date marking and related food information; Vegan/vegetarian), the paper will provide an overview of the strong and weak points of the FIC Regulation, while trying to envisage the possible future perspectives on its application, above all in the light of the mission letter to Commissioner designated S. Kyriakides, which states: «Part of your work will be to focus on improving consumer information, notably by looking at ways to address demands for more visible and complete information, especially on the health and sustainability of food products».