“The avian flu epidemic (…) affects the supply of the food industry for the production of certain foodstuffs made from eggs or egg products (…) or ingredients derived from poultry” , explains the DGCCRF in a press release.
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A way of dealing 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 the labels mentioning it immediately, according to a press release published Monday, August 29.
“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 component of the egg), “or ingredients derived from poultry” such as duck fat, explains the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) in a press release.
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. 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 therefore decided “to guarantee the continuity of supply of the products concerned” to grant “temporary derogations from certain labeling obligations”.
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 supply difficulties are “proven and important”.
When the mentions “GMO-free”, “from organic farming”, “raised without antibiotic treatments”, “raised outdoors” Where “French origin”are not complied with, the information must be “explicit” on the packaging by adding a label or by hiding the mention concerned, for example.