Italy not labelling allergens properly, says EC
Food products in the country may not currently be meeting the labelling requirements of Directive 2007/68/EC, which sets out measures for allergen labelling.
The Commission last week sent a ‘reasoned opinion’ to Italy for not complying with the measures as required by the food ingredients directive of 27 November 2007.
Adverse reactions
This sets out a list of food ingredients that must be labelled on food products as they are likely to cause adverse reactions in some people.
It amends a previous directive after a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) safety evaluation found that some compounds could be removed from the list as they were unlikely to cause adverse reactions.
The EC had originally given member states until November 2007 to comply with the new labelling rules, later extending the deadline to May 2008. Countries in the bloc were expected to communicate their progress to the Commission.
Court of Justice
However, the EC said that Italy did not notify national implementing measures, prompting last week’s ‘reasoned opinion’.
A reasoned opinion is essentially the second step in infringement proceedings.
“Italy is requested to take the necessary measures to transpose Directive 2007/68/EC in order to avoid the matter being referred to the Court of Justice," said the EC on Thursday.
For more information on the Directive and the ingredients concerned, click here.