The Council of State granted Friday to a request from the dairy giant Lactalis, ruling that it is illegal to require the mention of the origin of milk on packaging, insofar as there is no proven link between the geographical origin of milk and its properties.
This measure was put in place in 2017, on an experimental basis.
The Council of State annulled a government decree which had imposed the labeling of the origin of milk used as an ingredient in foodstuffs, deeming it illegal, after a request in this direction from the dairy giant Lactalis.
"By decree of August 19, 2016, the Prime Minister made compulsory, on an experimental basis, the indication of the origin of milk as well as of milk and meat used as an ingredient in prepackaged foodstuffs, for the period from the 1st January 2017 to December 31, 2018 ", a period of experimentation extended by decrees until December 31, 2021, recalls the decision." After questioning the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Council of State considers that it is illegal to impose geographical labeling of milk because there is no proven link between its origin (EU, non-EU) and its properties ", he said in a press release summarizing his decision rendered Wednesday.
The Lactalis group had requested the cancellation of this obligation, claiming that it was contrary to the regulation of 25 October 2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union concerning information to consumers on foodstuffs, the Council said. of state.
No link between geographical origin and ownership of milk
"Questioned by the Council of State, the CJEU ruled on October 1, 2020 that, in application of this regulation, the Member States can impose such labeling in the name of consumer protection under two conditions": on the one hand, "that the majority of consumers attach significant importance to this information" and on the other hand that there is a "proven link between certain properties of a foodstuff and its origin or provenance", indicated the Council of State .
"These two conditions, which are distinct, must both be fulfilled," he added.
The administration has not demonstrated a link between geographic origin and properties of milk, according to the ruling.
It justified the contested labeling obligation "solely by the importance that the majority of consumers attach, according to surveys, to the existence of information on the origin or provenance of milk", indicated the state Council.
Consequently, the Council of State ruled that the company Lactalis "is justified in requesting the annulment for excess of power" of this decree as well as the decrees which extended its effects.