Legal identity standards are an important benchmark for food authenticity. They are set at a national (or EU) level, and can define everything from the minimum cocoa solids for chocolate to be branded as “chocolate” to the definition of a “meat pie”. The difference between identity standards in different jurisdictions is a regular reason why internationally-traded foods are rejected as inauthentic.
There are opposing trends in different parts of the world in terms of the scope and breadth of legal identity standards. The EU has a wide range of Protected Geographic Indications, Protected Designations of Origin, and minimum specifications for many common foods. The “Breakfast Directives”, covering jams, honey, fruit juices and milk, were tightened in 2024. In the US, as part of the current national drive for deregulation, the FDA have just revoked 52 identity standards. These mainly relate to foods that are seen as obsolete, or which have a very small commercial market within the US. Meanwhile in India, where the scope of identity standards has been seen as narrower, the FSSAI have just tightened the norms for oils, sausages and colours.
With this continually evolving landscape, it is imperative that an exporting food company understands the identity standards of the territory where they are intending to sell.
See blog by legal firm Hogan Lovells on US deregulation of identity standards
See press report on India tightening of identity standards
Photo by Elena Leya on Unsplash
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