The European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution on 12^th May, calling on the European Commission to introduce mandatory country of origin labelling for milk and dairy products. MEPs believe that mandatory origin labelling would help to improve consumer confidence in food products by making the food supply chain more transparent. In voting for mandatory labelling, the Parliament chose to ignore the findings of a report issued by the European Commission in May 2015, which rejected mandatory labelling due to additional costs associated with a mandatory requirement. The Commission report states that consumers, if they so wish, may opt for milk products where origin information is voluntarily provided for by food business operators. Meanwhile, the Italian government announced plans to introduce country of origin labels on Italian milk, cheese, yoghurt and other processed dairy products, in an effort to improve domestic consumption of Italian dairy.

By Eamonn Farrell

Agri-Food Policy Executive