Giancarlo Scottà on food quality and country origin labels

Published: 30 March 2010 y., Tuesday

Obuoliai
Food quality and labelling are likely to be key issues when the Common Agriculture Policy is overhauled in the coming years. On 25 March MEPs called for "country of origin" marks and clearer food quality labels. We spoke to Italian MEP Giancarlo Scottà (Europe of Freedom and Democracy), about his report on the European Commission's proposals.

There are several controversial aspects to your report - can we start with the "country of origin" mark.

I come from a region (Veneto in Italy) where excellence in quality food has become a motor for tourism and gastro-tourism. There is a local economy around food and we are sure that there are similar areas to be promoted in the rest of Europe.

The mark of origin allows you to connect a certain food with the land where it is produced. In this way you give the consumer the possibility to choose: I'm not saying that European food is better than others. I think it should be up to the consumer to decide. I go further. I would like the Commission to survey consumers, to ask what they would really like to see on the label. We should stop arguing amongst ourselves and consult the people.

Another proposal approved by MEPs despite strong resistance is the European food quality logo.

Every time you try to apply changes to something that works, you face a lot of resistance. This doesn't mean you cannot change. We proposed a European logo for products that are grown and entirely transformed in Europe.

The problem is supermarkets. They import food from all over the world, and then label it according to the last stage of transformation. This is not transparent for the consumer and makes traceability very difficult. In the report there is also a strong call for a "short distribution chain".

What about the fight against "agro-piracy" where products are fake or sold under false names. What can the EU do?

Even here in Brussels I have eaten fake Parmigiano I recognised immediately it was not the real thing!

You should know that the "supermarket of fakes" is a business of over €52 billion a year. This is dirty money, which steals others' creativity and work.

We should be very tough with sanctions and punishments, both outside and inside the EU. We ask the Commission to fight at the WTO in order to obtain the same protection for the most counterfeited foods that we have for wines.

 

Šaltinis: europarl.europa.eu
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Commission approves amendment to Lithuanian crisis measure allowing small amounts of aid

The European Commission has approved, under EC Treaty state aid rules, an amendment to a Lithuanian scheme allowing aid to be granted of up to €500 000 per company, initially approved on 8 June 2009. more »

The EU and Russia reinforce the Early Warning Mechanism to improve prevention and management in case of an energy crisis

As agreed by the President of the European Commission and the President of the Russian Federation during the last EU-Russia Summit in Khabarovsk, the EU and Russia have strengthened the current dispositions under the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue to prevent and manage potential energy crises, with an enhanced Early Warning Mechanism. more »

EU provides EUR 1 billion for trade facilitation in developing countries

The European Union has today presented to the World Trade Organization the trade facilitation projects it has financed between 2006 and 2008. more »

Commission approves Romanian state guarantee to Ford Romania

The European Commission has authorised, under the EC Treaty’s rules on state aid, a planned state guarantee by Romania to enable Ford Romania SA to access a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). more »

Getting out of the red

The economic crisis has left many countries with budget deficits well over the 3% limit. The commission is proposing deadlines for reducing the gaps. more »

In October 2009 prices for consumer goods and services went down by 0.4 per cent

Statistics Lithuania informs that in October 2009, against September, prices for consumer goods and services went down by 0.4 per cent. more »

Lithuania and China aim at strengthening economic and trade dialogue

Lithuania’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Šarūnas Adomavičius took part in bilateral political consultations with representatives from foreign affairs, commerce and transport ministries of the People’s Republic of China. more »

Excessive Deficit Procedure steps: the Stability and Growth Pact as the anchor for fiscal exit strategies

Under the budgetary surveillance powers conferred by the EU Treaty, the European Commission today proposed to the Council to set 2013 as the deadline for the correction of the budget deficits in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Portugal. more »

World Bank and Moldova Join Forces to Fight Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture

A joint partnership between the World Bank, the Moldovan Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the Ministry of Environment was launched in Moldova’s capital in the late days of October. more »

World Bank Group President Zoellick Launches Global Urban Strategy at Inaugural Infrastructure Finance Summit

World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick today joins senior officials from the Government of Singapore to launch a new global urban strategy that will guide Bank advisory services and financing in the sector over the next decade. more »