Review of capability of methods for verification of country of origin of food and feed
Abstract:
Country of origin is defined as the country where food or feed is entirely grown, produced, or manufactured, or, if produced in more than one country, where it last underwent substantial change.UK, EU-assimilated legislation states that indication of the country of origin is a mandatory labelling requirement for food and feed. Country of origin claim plays an important role for consumers. there are approximately 3500 EU products with a specific geographical origin and their production methods are officially protected (Protected Designation of Origin = PDO; Protected Geographical Indication = PGI; Geographical Indication (for spirit drinks) = GI). These goods often carry a premium price. In addition to customer preference and sale price, country of origin claims are important to businesses when they seek to (i) monitor food miles (carbon footprint), (ii) ensure sustainable sourcing. ‘Verification’ of geographical origin involves testing against a database to confirm that the data for a sample are consistent with those for that geographical location as claimed on a product label. However, verification does not involve testing a sample from an unknown location to unequivocally identify its provenance, as such methods are not available or are extremely limited in scope.
Date:
2024
Keywords:
Country of origin labelling, Geographical origin verification, Food authenticity, EU food labelling legislation, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), Geographical Indication (GI), Analytical verification methods
