EU lactosphère celebrates dairy term protection

The European Dairy Association (EDA) welcomed the protection of dairy terms provided by amendment 171 to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy Codex Alimentarius Standard 206-1999 (general standard for the use of dairy terms), which was passed on Friday, 23 October.

 

The EDA and other concerned organisations had written to the EU, noting, “Copa, Cogeca, EDA and Eucolait believe that dairy terms must remain protected in EU legislation and be respected by all supply chain partners and fully enforced by all competent authorities of the EU Member States at all times. These terms must not be made available to substitute products that wish to exploit the attributes of dairy products whilst challenging consumer confidence in them. This is necessary to avoid any confusion for the consumer between dairy products and other products that are different in terms of origin, ingredient composition and nutritional value.

 

“Market participants that use, names specific to the dairy sector to designate plant-based products must clearly be seen as acting illegally, particularly considering that this will also have an adverse effect on the interests of consumers, other market participants or competitors. Consumers should not be misled about the real characteristics of food.

 

“We believe that it is of paramount importance that dairy terms continue to be protected under the future CAP and used exclusively for milk and dairy products. The list of exemptions should not be lengthened in order to avoid more misleading practices.”

 

Alexander Anton, Secretary General of the EDA, adds, “This is a good day for the EU lactosphère, for our European consumers and citizens, and for Europe. Dairy terms (‘milk’,  ‘butter’, ‘whey’, ‘yogurt’ and alike) are exclusively reserved for dairy products. Non-dairy products cannot hijack our dairy terms and the well-deserved reputation of excellence of milk and dairy.”

 

 

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