- 25/03/2023
- Posted by: Marta
- Category: Questions and answers
Dear Dario,
my company distributes the now famous 'peanut butter', also known as 'Peanut Butter' in French-speaking countries and 'peanut butter' in English-speaking ones.
The descriptive name of the food, 'peanut cream/paste', can be found on the label next to the ingredients list, in the same visual field as the commercial name.
The various products on the Italian market bear as commercial name, depending on the case, 'peanut butter' and 'peanut butter'. The Italian name can perhaps help the consumer to distinguish the Made in Italy?
Many thanks, Mark
The lawyer Dario Dongo, Ph.D. in international food law, answers
Dear Marco,
both trade names'peanut butter' and 'peanut butter' are very clear to the Italian consumer and nothing prevents them from using invented names.
Just think of the most famous cream brand in the world, where the rootGroove' recalls a marginal ingredient (hazelnut) compared to the dominant ones (palm fat and sugar). (1)
The case of peanut butter moreover, it deserves further study, in the light of the only apparently analogous question of the Cheese Sounding.
1) The question Cheese Sounding
La European Court of Justice (ECJ), in the TofuTown.com case (C‑422/16) ruled that the Single CMO Regulation – in the part in which it reserves their own denominations only for dairy products – also with regard to the commercial name (sale description) of foods. (2)
The Court of Justice thus clarified the prohibition of a series of extravagant evocations (e.g. 'Soyatoo tofu butter,Veggie cheese,Plant Cheese,Rice cream spray') used by the German company TofuTown.com to showcase its innovative plant-based vegan foods (plant based foods. See notes 3,4).
1.1) Reserved denominations
The reg. EU 1308/2013 referred to by the Court of Justice - in Annex VII, Part III, 'Milk and dairy products' – specifies that 'The names referred to in points 1, 2 and 3 [5] cannot be used for products other than those referred to in the aforementioned points' (point 5, paragraph I).
'This provision does not apply however to the designation of goods whose exact nature is clear for traditional use and/or where the designations are clearly used to describe a characteristic quality of the product' (point 5, paragraph II).
1.2) Derogations for traditional use
The list of products subject to derogation for traditional use – by virtue of article 121.bi of reg. EC 1234/2007 meanwhile repealed (which the Court of Justice has traced 'essentially' to article 91.1.a of EU reg. 1308/2013. See note 6) – would be the one referred to in Annex I to decision 2010/791 of the European Commission. (7)
The denominations allowed by the European Commission in the above list, in hindsight, concern only 15 languages out of 24 official languages. And 9 of these, note well, include peanut butter:
- 'peanut butter' in German, out of a total of 21 names,
- 'Nut butters (for example, peanut butter)' in English, out of 20 names,
- 'Beurre de cocahouèt' in French, out of 18 names,
- 'Jordnøddesmør' in Danish, out of 12 names,
- 'peanut butter' in Dutch, out of 11 names,
- 'Masliak' in Slovak, out of 8 names,
- 'Jordnotssmor' in Swedish, out of 5 names,
- 'Νουκρέμα' (nut butter/cream), in Greek, out of 5 names,
- 'Voileipäkeksi' in Finnish, out of 4 names. (7)
2) Peanut butter, traditional use
The designation of the product 'peanut butter' is clear in Europe precisely because European consumers are able to recognize this product and distinguish it from others, on the basis of a traditional use that has consolidated over the last few decades. As evidenced by its recognition in eight languages, back in 2010, by the same European Commission which in 1988 had considered peanut butter in only six languages (Jordnøddesmør, Erdnußbutter, Νουκρέμα, Beurre de cocahouèt, Nut butters (Eg. peanut butter), peanut butter. See note 8).
Between 2010 – date of last survey by the European Commission (7) – and 2023 peanut butter has further spread in the consumption traditions of European citizens, who recognize it easily without the risk of confusion of any kind. In Europe and also in Italy, where:
- Google search for 'peanut butter' leads to 3.410.000 (search performed on 23.3.23 at 20:46),
- the peanut butter recipe is reported by the most authoritative sources (Silver spoon) and widespread (Saffron Yellow) in the field,
- the nutritional properties of peanut butter are reported on the same site website of CREA, which belongs to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests (MASAF). (9)
3) Other normative references
In Italy, to avoid any hidden doubts:
- the denomination 'peanut butter' is identified as a specific customs heading, precisely in Italian, under code 2008 1110 00 (see TARIC nomenclature, Customs Agency),
- the entry peanut butter is also present in the official text in Italian of EU regulation 1129/2011 (food additives), in Annex II Part D, under entry 04.2.5.4 (nut butter and creams).
4) Transparency on the label
The label of prepacked peanut butter and products containing it as an ingredient remain subject to the rules contained in Food Information Regulation EU No. 1169/11. It is therefore appropriate to distinguish:
- the trade name (sale description) of the product, which can refer to one or more languages indifferently, regardless of the member country where the food is distributed,
- the name of the food. In the absence of a legal name, (10) a descriptive name in the official language of the country of destination must be used. (11)
5) Peanut butter Made in Italy
The supply chain of the Italian peanut has successfully revived in various regions, after a few decades of abandonment. (12) And it's the first ever to be tracked with a system blockchain public. (13)
The choice to enhance thepeanut cream' with the trade name 'peanut butter', rather than 'peanut butter', is certainly acceptable. All the more when it comes to '100% made in Italy' and even better if organic.
Cordially
Dario
(1) He Food Information Regulation in hindsight it also applies to brands. And it forbids misleading consumers about the identity and composition of the products (EU regulation 1169/11, article 7.1.a). However, there is no violation of this rule, nor an unfair commercial practice (in turn sanctioned by directive 2005/29/EC, transposed in Italy with the Consumer Code) in most cases in which a commercial name evokes a completely different food. Precisely by virtue of the obvious difference between the two products – as seen in the example of biscuits presented with the commercial name 'truffle' – and the use of a correct sales denomination, followed by the list of ingredients
(2) Common Market Organization Regulation No. 1308/2013. Article 78 and Annex VII Part III. Milk and dairy products
(3) European Court of Justice (Seventh Chamber). Case C‑422/16. Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV v TofuTown.com GmbH. Judgment 14 June 2017 https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=191704&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=540650
(4) Dario Dongo. 'Cheese sounding', the EU Court of Justice confirms the ban. DO (Food and Agriculture Requirements). 15.6.17
(5) Designations reserved exclusively for dairy products are milk, whey, cream, butter, buttermilk, butteroil, casein, anhydrous milk fat (MGLA), cheese, yoghurt, kefir, kumiss, viili/ fil, smetana, fil, rjaženka, rūgušpien (EU regulation 1308/13, Annex VII, Part III)
(6) 'The Commission may adopt implementing acts: (a) establishing the list of milk and milk products sector products referred to in the second subparagraph of point 5 of Part III of Annex VII (…) on the basis of the lists indications, which are sent to it by the Member States, of the products which they consider to correspond, on their territory, to the aforementioned provisions'
(7) Commission Decision 2010/791/EU, establishing the list of products referred to in the second subparagraph of point III.1 of Annex XII to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of the Council https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32010D0791&qid=1679673550547
(8) Commission Decision 88/566/EEC, establishing the list of products referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 of the Council https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31988D0566&from=NL
(9) CREA (National Council for Research in Agriculture and Agricultural Economics). Food composition tables. 'Peanut Butter', category Oils and fats, food category 009010, scientific name Arachis hypogaea, English name Peanut Butter, edible part 100%, portion 10 g https://www.alimentinutrizione.it/tabelle-nutrizionali/009010
(10) Dario Dongo. Name of the food. FT (Food Times). 21.8.17
(11) Dario Dongo. EU Court of Justice, zero tolerance for language requirements on food labels. FT (Food Times). 23.1.22
(12) Annalisa Zordan. Italian peanuts. Features and where to find them. https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/arachidi-italiane-caratteristiche-e-dove-trovarle/ Red shrimp. 31.1.20
(13) Dario Dongo, Gianluca Mascellino. Public blockchain, Noberasco starts with Wiise Chain. FT (Food Times). 11.11.20
