Submitted by Thomas Pröller, meat-n-more on , Published in Politics & Law
The food industry, consumer advocates and politicians judge consumer portals very differently
The consumer protection portal Lebensmittelklarheit.de has been in existence for a good two years. The anniversary shows the very different assessment of this portal, which is financed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection and edited by the Consumer Association of the Federal Association and the Consumers' Center of Hesse. We have documented this below:
First of all, the statement from the Federal Ministry:
Submitted by Thomas Pröller, meat-n-more on , Published in Politics & Law
Children's sausages and meat products with packaging / advertising for children
The trend of advertising meat products for a specific target group with a special design is very "on the rise". The consumption of meat products with a special design/advertising for children is very popular with small consumers. On the colorful prepackaged or colorfully printed casings for loose Goods are depicted with funny motifs, heroes, explorers or animals. The sausage products are intended to suggest fun and adventure. Sausages, which are produced as a special motif or in a specific slice shape, are also a popular snack for children at the sausage counter. These products are intended to Arouse the attention of children and parents and convince small and large consumers Are the composition and labeling flawless? - current research results
In 2012, 30 sausage samples with advertising or packaging for children were examined at the Food and Veterinary Institute Oldenburg (LVI Oldenburg) of LAVES. Most of the samples sent in came from retailers. Four samples were taken from the manufacturer. Four samples were offered as loose goods at butcher shops or at the meat counter in the supermarket. The samples submitted were 16 different products from nine manufacturers, mainly boiled sausage products (mortadella, meat sausage, small sausages), cooked spreadable sausages (liver sausage, spread) or raw sausage (salami). The products were offered, among other things, as "top quality" or "low-fat". In addition, they were z. T. provided with various claims, e.g. B. "lactose-free", "gluten-free", "without flavor enhancers", "without colourings" "calcium plus", "reduced salt" or with "healthy" ingredients such as vitamins and minerals, e.g. "with vitamins B, E and Calcium" advertised.
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In three resolutions of April 13, 24, the 2013th Senate of the Higher Administrative Court prohibited food control authorities from publishing the food and hygiene law deficiencies found during operational controls on the internet on the platform provided for this purpose (www.lebensmitteltransparenz-nrw.de).
In October 2012, the Aachen city region discovered numerous hygiene deficiencies in a bakery; In the Mettmann district there were violations of hygiene regulations in a restaurant in December 2012; Also in October 2012, the Märkische Kreis determined that the permissible limit value for a food additive had been exceeded in a food processing company.
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OVG Münster sees a gap in the federal law for fines portal in the urgent procedure
The North Rhine-Westphalian Consumer Protection Minister Johannes Remmel is calling on the federal government to quickly improve the Food and Feed Code (LFGB) following the latest ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (OVG) on the fine portal www.lebensmitteltransparenz.nrw.de. “The Higher Administrative Court follows our criticism of the poorly crafted work that Minister Ilse Aigner has submitted with the relevant federal law. In February we therefore warned the Federal Minister of further defeats in the German courts and pointed out, for example, the lack of legally stipulated deletion periods. But Minister Aigner stuck to her position undeterred - to the detriment of consumers.
At the consumer protection ministerial conference in mid-May, we will press with the other federal states for a quick improvement, ”said Remmel. “Because the Higher Administrative Court has also determined that our way of creating more transparency in food controls is indisputable. That is why we basically want to stick to the fine portal, ”said Remmel. Until the new version of the relevant federal law by Minister Ilse Aigner, NRW will take the fines portal offline. NRW thus follows other federal states in which courts have ruled similarly.
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EU Court of Justice strengthens authorities - With a link to download the judgment text
Under EU law, national authorities may provide identifying information when informing the public about food that is not harmful to health but is unfit for consumption. In particular, it is the designation of the food and the company under whose name or company the food was manufactured, treated or placed on the market
The Food Safety Regulation1 ensures that food that is unsafe, ie harmful to health or unfit for human consumption, cannot be placed on the market. Food unfit for human consumption is a food which, as a result of contamination, putrefaction, spoilage or decomposition, has become unacceptable for human consumption from the intended use.
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With verdict for download
In decisions of March 18, 2013, the Bavarian Administrative Court (BayVGH) temporarily prohibited the City of Munich, in proceedings for temporary legal protection, from posting deficiencies in food and hygiene law that were identified during official plant inspections on the Internet platform set up for this purpose (www.lgl.bayern. de) to publish.
Munich catering establishments had successfully defended themselves before the administrative court against the publication of the deficiencies found during inspections. The complaints of the City of Munich against the decisions of the Munich Administrative Court were rejected by the BayVGH in all proceedings.
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vegane gesellschaft germany, vegetarian association Germany and foodwatch present draft law
Many foods contain hidden ingredients or additives of animal origin that do not need to be declared on the packaging. The vegan society Germany, the German Vegetarian Association (VEBU) and the consumer organization foodwatch today presented a draft law for mandatory labeling. The three organizations are calling on Federal Consumer Minister Ilse Aigner to create transparency by changing the national food labeling regulation: Anyone who rejects animal-based foods for ethical, religious or other reasons should finally be given the opportunity to do so. More than 50.000 consumers have already requested a change in the law by signing Minister Aigner, but have not yet received an answer.
"It is unacceptable that products can be labeled as 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' even though they contain ingredients from animals," criticizes Christian Vagedes, founder of the vegan society Germany. "As a result, consumers have no control when shopping. We demand clear guidelines for food manufacturers and thus an end to consumer deception."
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The "Protective Association of Pomeranian meat and sausage products" wants to protect three special products from Pomerania with the special EU origin status: Pomeranian liver sausage, Pomeranian slag sausage and Pomeranian blood sausage. In support of this initiative, Minister of Agriculture Dr. Till Backhaus on Friday gave the association a notification of funding of 30.000 euros.
"Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is a state that has numerous regional specialties in many areas. This applies in particular to the state of Western Pomerania, which has its own traditions of food preparation," said the minister. "I am extremely pleased that the members of the protective association are committed to striving for the highest European quality feature, Europe-wide protection of origin, for the products Pomeranian liver sausage, slag sausage and blood sausage." The initiative to found the protective association came from butchers and meat processors from Western Pomerania who still produce these traditional products.
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"BMF issues letters on the delimitation of deliveries and other services when dispensing food and drinks"
In recent years, the European Court of Justice and the Federal Fiscal Court have issued several judgments on the distinction between deliveries and other services. The resulting consequences of the VAT treatment of gastronomic services and so-called social catering are now presented in the BMF letter of March 20, 2013 (IV D 2 - S 7100/07/10050-06, DOK. 2013/0077777) and are a large number of examples are clearly explained.
Basically, the following applies: Deliveries of food are subject to the reduced sales tax rate of 7 percent. Other services are excluded from this benefit, even if part of these services consists of the delivery of food. As in the past, the complexity of the preparation (standard dish or high-quality product) is irrelevant to the question of the tax rate.
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Because of criticism of the "regionality swindle" - the ham for the traditional product may also come from Honolulu or Buxtehude
The Protection Association of Black Forest Ham Manufacturers wants to take legal action to ban criticism by the consumer organization foodwatch of cheating on the regionality of Black Forest ham. Black Forest ham could "also come from Timbuktu" - with this formulation, foodwatch drew attention to the fact that only individual production steps have to take place in the Black Forest, but the pigs can be kept and slaughtered anywhere in the world. The ham for the Black Forest ham usually has nothing to do with the Black Forest. The Abraham company, as a major producer, obtains ham from far outside the Black Forest and cuts, packs and sells the smoked product from Lower Saxony - in the end it is sold with a lot of regional advertising as "Black Forest ham".
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Black Forest ham PGI is a regional, traditional specialty
The Protection Association of Black Forest Ham Manufacturers has issued a cease and desist order against the so-called "consumer organization" foodwatch, which claims that Black Forest ham PGI could come from Timbuktu and sees this as an alleged "regional fraud".
The Protection Association of Black Forest Ham Manufacturers sees this as a targeted damage to the reputation and image of the regional and traditional specialty produced by its members.
