The purpose of the new provisions is to ensure clear, accurate, and transparent information about the origin of food products sold and to improve their traceability throughout the distribution chain, according to a statement from the agency.
According to the amendments (new article) to the aforementioned law that are coming into effect, “for prepackaged food products… the country of origin must also be indicated on the price tag, and this information must exactly match the information specified on the product label.” For unpackaged food products packaged at the point of sale…, the seller will be required to indicate the country of origin on the price tag based on commercial and accompanying documents relating to the batch offered for sale.
Under the new rules, the country of origin must be indicated by its full name, and the country’s flag may be used only as a graphic element accompanying the name. Information on the country of origin must be printed on the price tag or on an information sign placed in the immediate vicinity of the product, in a sufficiently large font (at least 0.3 cm).
These requirements will apply to retail outlets classified in categories B, C, and D (in accordance with Annex No. 5 to Law No. 231/2010).
In light of the approaching effective date of the new provisions, ANSA recommends that market operators take the necessary steps well in advance to update their price tags in order to avoid penalties (ranging from 120 to 240 conventional units).
