Revision of EU marketing standards for agricultural products

In the opinion, the EESC:

• Calls for more robust measures to support European honey producers, including stringent marketing standards, systematic testing of imported honey, and mandatory origin labelling for honey blends, detailing the percentage of each honey origin in descending order.
• Suggests evaluating the impact of "no added sugars" labelling on fruit juice consumption compared to fresh fruits. Proposes requiring nectar producers to include "contains added sugars" when applicable and phasing out "with no added sugars".
• Believes that increasing the fruit content in extra jams beyond 450 g/kg won't reduce sugar content but supports raising the fruit content to 400 g/kg in standard jams.

Context:

On March 22, 2023, the European Commission, JRC, and OLAF reported that 46% of honey imported into the EU from third countries is suspected of not complying with the Honey Directive. They emphasized the need for an ambitious revision of the directive to ensure fair trade practices and protect European beekeepers. On April 21, 2023, the European Commission proposed amending several directives, known as the "Breakfast Directives," which regulate food composition, labelling, and presentation. These changes are designed to safeguard consumer interests and facilitate product movement within the internal market.

Date of the section meeting: 7 September 2023

Results of the section meeting vote: 59 votes in favour, none against and no abstention

Date of adoption at the EESC plenary session:  21 September 2023

Results of the plenary session vote: 170 in favour, none against, three abstentions

Contacts:

Katerina Serifi

Press Officer

Tel.: +32 (0) 473 72 29 99

Email: aikaterini.serifi@eesc.europa.eu

Arturo Iniguez Yuste

Administrator

Tel.: +32 (0) 2 546 8768

email: Arturo.Iniguez@eesc.europa.eu