To deal with "supply tensions" on certain egg or poultry-based ingredients, in the context of an avian flu epidemic, the State will authorize the agri-food industry to temporarily change the recipes of certain products without labels won't immediately mention it, according to a statement released on Monday.
“The avian flu epidemic, which has been raging in France since November 2021, affects the supply of the food industry for the production of certain foodstuffs made from eggs or egg products” (products obtained from a egg component), “or ingredients from poultry” such as duck fat, explains the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) in a press release.
When the mentions "without GMO", "from organic farming", "raised without antibiotic treatment", "raised in the open air" or "origin France", are not respected, the information must be "explicit" on the packaging by adding a label or by hiding the mention concerned, for example.
The virus, which has led to the slaughter of more than 19 million poultry in recent months, has also affected the upstream poultry farming sectors that supply chicks and ducklings, making it more difficult to get back into production.
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Because of these tensions, "some manufacturers are forced to make composition changes in a time frame incompatible with the printing of new packaging" and the authorities have therefore decided "to guarantee the continuity of supply of the products concerned" to granting "temporary derogations from certain labeling obligations".
4,500 references based on sunflower oil already modified
If the professional wishes to modify his recipe, he must have it validated by Fraud Prevention, which will give him an exemption for a maximum period of three months, provided that the modification does not endanger the safety of consumers and that the difficulties procurement are "proven and substantial".
The State had already authorized manufacturers in recent months to temporarily modify the composition of certain food and cosmetic products using sunflower oil, to respond to the supply difficulties caused by the war in Ukraine, the world's largest exporter of sunflower oil. 'sunflower oil.
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The area of the Repression of Fraud site listing the changes in recipes had nearly 4,500 references concerned on Monday afternoon: chips, gnocchi, sauces, processed products, prepared fish or desserts, for example.
Sunflower is also present in many products, such as chocolates, in the form of lecithin, an additive.