A few days ago the European Commission (EC) of the EU opened the 2022 call for proposals for programs to promote agri-food products. Increasingly focused on meeting the objectives of the European Green Dealnow Brussels is considering modifying this policy, and may even reach exclude products such as alcoholic beverages or meat of these campaigns.
It is one of the options that have been put on the table during the first day of the online information sessions, in which the countries involved are intended to be informed about specific aspects of the promotion policy and how to develop successful campaigns. Following the implementation of the “Farm to Fork” strategy, these campaigns want to adapt more and more to comply with the criteria of sustainability and promotion of healthy habitswith which certain foods would collide.
According to EFE reports, experts and organizations discussed in the first session the possibility of modifying these promotion policies in view of the standards review that they hope to present for next summer.
As reported by the news agency, Three options are being studied.: adjust the campaigns based on the annual work programs; introduce modifications such as the limitation of actions in the internal market, promoting a more sustainable production and consumption of food; or directly review the criteria and stop promoting certain products that do not meet them.
Reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the food system is one of the main objectives of the EC, in addition to promoting healthy habits, stimulating the reformulation of processed foods and restrict the promotion of foods high in salt, sugar, or fat. These are actions that would collide, therefore, with the promotion of alcoholic beverages, sausages or red meat, whose consumption is to be reduced.
Producer countries and organizations they oppose logically to this third option, but from the EC they assure that it is only an “option that is examined as part of the review process” and that it is, for now, far from imposing itself on the others.
“Our intention is do not stigmatize any sector in particular, not to attack anyone,” says Bruno Alvesan expert from the European Commission’s promotion team, because the aim is to avoid, as far as possible, harming key sectors within the agri-food economy.
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