Food labelling: Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) rules

Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) has recently been in the news due to the publication of 2 long awaited reports by the European Commission. COOL is already mandatory where failure to indicate the origin of food might mislead the consumer, for swine, sheep, goat and poultry meat (fresh, chilled or frozen) and for specific products such as honey, beef and olive oil.

If you need help interpreting the mandatory COOL legislation, or would like advice on how to make legally compliant voluntary COOL declarations please contact our Regulatory Affairs team.

The Commission reports conclude that an indication of the country of origin or place of provenance should remain voluntary for unprocessed foods, single ingredient products, ingredients that represent more than 50% of a food, meat (other than those types for which it is mandatory), milk, and milk used as an ingredient in dairy products. There had been concerns about the effect of mandatory COOL on selling prices, the internal market and EU trade. These commission recommendations mean that where COOL is provided voluntarily, consumers can choose products with specific origins if they want to.

Contact: Helen Arrowsmith
+44(0)1386 842240
helen.arrowsmith@campdenbri.co.uk