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Mandatory food information to consumers in the case of short food supply chains and local food systems in EU law and US legislation a comparative study

Aug 03, 2021

Short supply chain is a legal term in EU law. It was defined in 2013 within the rural development policy to specify for which kind of initiatives the Union support can be dedicated. Local food systems (LFS) is a wider phenomenon, not legally defined, encompassing short food supply chains (SFSC). Both imply a distribution of food in close proximity to where it is produced. In the field of EU food law, there is no specific set of provisions for SFSC or LFS. Food law, which in the EU is mostly issued in the form of regulations of a horizontal nature, therefore, constituting a comprehensive system of rules binding directly all EU Members in the entire food and feed sector, includes not only food safety and food hygiene regulations but also requirements regarding food information to the consumer. A general principle of food law and an important element in assuring a high level of consumer protection is to provide a basis for consumers to make informed choices in relation to the food they consume and to prevent any practices that may mislead the consumer.8 Therefore, EU Regulation 1169/2011 laid down rules on food labelling applicable to all foods, in particular, it drew up a list of mandatory information which should in principle be provided for all foods intended for the final consumer and mass caterers.

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