New European regulations (1379/2013) regarding the labelling of fishery products came into effect on 13th December 2014. The regulation can be found by following this link: Regulation EU No. 1379/2013
For pre-packed and non-pre-packed fishery and aquaculture products the following information must be included on the label (or in the case of non-pre-packed food, a nearby poster or billboard):
– commercial and scientific name of the species
– production method (“…caught…” or “…caught in freshwater…” or “…farmed…”)
– area where the product was caught / country and body of water where the product was farmed
– category of fishing gear
– whether the product has been defrosted (with some exceptions)
– date of minimum durability ( i.e. “best before” date) – where appropriate (e.g. frozen fillets)
These rules apply to a number of products, including:
- Fresh/chilled fish
- Frozen fish
- Fish fillets
- Dried/salted/smoked fish
- Crustaceans (in shell or not: live, fresh, frozen, dried, salted, in brine; in shell: cooked by steaming or boiling in water)
- Molluscs (in shell or not: live, fresh, frozen, dried, salted, in brine)
The Commission has recently published a useful guide entitled “A pocket guide to the EU’s new fish and aquaculture consumer labels” which explains what must appear on labels and what voluntary information can also be included.
