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Regulating Sustainability Claims on Seafood - EU Ecolabel, Unfair Commercial Practices Directive or Seafood Information Requirements?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Hanna Schebesta
Hanna Schebesta*
Affiliation:
Wageningen University
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Abstract

In February 2016, the Feasibility Report on options for an EU ecolabel scheme for fishery and aquaculture products was published. The study did not make a strong case for the introduction of a seafood EU Ecolabel and it is unlikely that the European Commission will pursue this policy option. We argue that sustainability information on seafood should not be framed through the EU Ecolabel debate. The more pressing issue concerns self-declared sustainability claims on seafood products. As a possible solution, we propose to address these by re-invigorating the labelling rules on seafood information in the Regulation on the Common Organisation of the Markets in Fishery and Aquaculture Products.

Type
Reports
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 784 - 788
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016

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References

1- Eloquently termed “political consumerism”, see Micheletti, and Boström, , ‘Political Consumerism: Consumer Choice, Information, and Labeling’, in Thompson, P. B. and Kaplan, D. M. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics (2014) 1508 Google Scholar.

2- In fact, already the famous Cassis de Dijon case pursues this strategy, see for example Purnhagen, , ‘The Virtue of Cassis de Dijon 25 Years Later—It Is Not Dead, It Just Smells Funny’, in Purnhagen, K. and Rott, P. (eds.), Varieties of European Economic Law and Regulation (2014) 315 Google Scholar.

3- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers, Amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004, OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, pp. 18-63.

4- Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Organisation of the Markets in Fishery and Aquaculture Products, Amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1184/2006 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and Repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000, OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, pp. 1-21, p. 1. (‘CMO Regulation’).

5- Article 35 and 39 of the CMO Regulation.

6- Environmental information and information of an ethical or social nature may be provided on a voluntary basis, as long as it is clear and unambiguous, Article 39(1) e) and f) of the CMO Regulation.

7- Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel, OJ L 27, 30.1.2010, pp. 1-19. (‘EU Ecolabel Regulation’).

8- Oakdene Hollins, EU Ecolabel for Food and Feed Products-Feasibility Study, 2011.

9- MRAG, Feasibility Report on Options for an EU Ecolabel Scheme for Fishery and Aquaculture Products, 2016.

10- S. Washington and L. Ababouch, Private Standards and Certification in Fisheries and Aquaculture: Current Practice and Emerging Issues, 2011.

11- However, it is important to note that the Feasibility Report did not carry out empirical behavioural studies on consumer attitudes and perceptions. The evidence on the consumer seems at this point inconclusive, with sometimes contradicting findings.

12- The Feasibility Report mentions particularly the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and to some extent the Accreditation Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008.

13- European Commission, Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Options for an EU Eco-Label Scheme for Fishery and Aquaculture Products, COM/2016/0263 final.

14- Henson, and Reardon, , ‘Private Agri-Food Standards: Implications for Food Policy and the Agri-Food System’, 30 Food Policy 241 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

15- Cafaggi, ‘Private Regulation, Supply Chain and Contractual Networks: The Case of Food Safety’, EUI Working Papers, RSCAS 2010/10, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Private Regulation Series-03.

16- For example, Comparison of Wild-Capture Fisheries Certification Schemes, 2012, World Wildlife Fund, available at http://www.worldwildlife.org/publications/comparison-of-wild-capture-fisheries-certification-schemes (last visited 26 October 2016).

17- ClientEarth, Environmental Claims on Supermarket Seafood: Improving Product Labelling & Consumer Protection, 2011.

18- Ibid.

19- Article 39(1) e) and f) of the CMO Regulation.

20- See the number of issues covered by eco-labelling schemes reported in the Feasibility Report. There is a strict environmental understanding of sustainability that co-exist with a wider ecosystem approach, also taking into account socio-economic factors.

21- Article 39(4) of the CMO Regulation.

22- Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 Concerning Unfair Business-to-Consumer Commercial Practices in the Internal Market and Amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Article 12 also requires Member States to grant authorities the power to request substantiation of claims from traders.

23- Notably the updated guidance on the Unfair Commercial Practice Directive develops this idea. Commission Staff Working Document. Guidance on the Implementation/application of Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices. A Comprehensive Approach to Stimulating Cross-Border E-Commerce for Europe’s Citizens and Businesses, COM(2016) 320 Final.