- 07/11/2019
- Posted by: Marta
- Category: Questions and answers
Hello Dongo lawyer,
I produce quality artisanal tomato preserves, even organically, with objectively different methods compared to industrial productions. I therefore write on the label "without citric acid", and "pasteurized in a bain-marie", as is true, to distinguish my products.
However, the controllers of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Policies and the anti-fraud Carabinieri seem annoyed by these indications on the label. I'd like an opinion of him on this.
Many thanks
Antonio
———————————————————————————————————————–The lawyer Dario Dongo, Ph.D. in European food law, answers
Dear Antonio good evening,
congratulations first of all for the commendable commitment to producing quality organic preserves, in the old way!
The news reported by you on the label qualify as voluntary information. They are therefore subject to the general requirements of truthfulness, transparency and clarity that are prescribed by Regulation (EU) no. 1169/11, articles 7 and 36.
Compliance analysis of the indications given with respect to current legislation can therefore be carried out by verifying the ABC of the aforementioned requirements.
A) Truthfulness
The truthfulness of the news offered on the label and advertising of a food - as well as for other goods and services, always applying the Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 206/05) - also implies their provability. In other words, the operator must be able to demonstrate what has been communicated to the authorities who may request it, by means of objective facts and data. In the present case:
- the manufacturing process (bain-marie pasteurization) can be described in self-monitoring documents (good hygiene practices and HACCP manuals),
- the non-use of citric acid in turn it can be demonstrated by exhibiting the manufacturing procedures. Where this additive is not used in any of the processes carried out in the plant, the traceability records may also be useful in proving the news offered.
B) Transparency and non-misleading
'Without citric acid' is information that fits into the context of the so-called ' declarationsfree from'(or'without... '). And it is certainly legitimate, in the case of a tomato paste, if there are similar products on the market that instead contain this additive. Which is actually used, with the function of acidity corrector.
Pasteurization in a water bath, in turn, it is a technique that can be legitimately boasted, in labeling and advertising, precisely because it is not common to similar food products. (1) It is known in fact that in industrial productions a more efficient and therefore less delicate process is used than cooking in a bain-marie (the passage of tomatoes in tunnels with jets of steam).
C) Clarity
Both information offers - 'without citric acid' and 'pasteurized in a water bath' – are clear and unequivocal. The absence of additives is also a piece of news that is gaining growing consensus among consumers, as demonstrated by recent market surveys (e.g., Osservatorio Immagino 2018, Eurispes analysis), which we have also written about. And it is also part of an even broader phenomenon, that of the so-called 'Clean Labels'.
The labels that show ingredient lists reduced to a minimum - therefore clean, that is, 'clean' of nonessential ingredients and additives—indeed, they express the approach of those operators who are most attentive to restoring foods to the natural goodness of their raw materials. This is the opposite of so-called ultra-processed foods, which, on the other hand, are raising growing concerns among consumers and the scientific community.
The same is true for the reference to the 'bain marie'. Which is a cooking method, as well as pasteurization, rooted in the traditions of many Italian families. For the preparation of vegetable preserves but also of compotes and jams. Without going into the merits of the technological and economic advantages linked to the process choices of each, there is no doubt that the consumer can well understand and possibly even appreciate this news.
On the occasion, I also point out a previous article regarding the indication of the lycopene content in tomato preserves, on https://foodagriculturerequirements.com/archivio-notizie/domande-e-risposte/dichiarazioni-di-fatto-in-etichetta-risponde-l-avvocato-dario-dongo
A very cordial greeting and good luck!
Dario
Note
(1) The reg. CE 1169/11 specifies in fact the prohibition to attribute to a product characteristics common to (all) similar foods (article 7, paragraph 1, paragraph 'c'). It is therefore forbidden, for example, to promote the absence of preservatives in products that by law must be free of them (e.g. tomato sauce, fruit juices and nectars)
