USDA: French legislation threatens millions of dollars of U.S. fruit and vegetable exports

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A French law that will ban produce stickers starting Jan. 1 of 2022 threatens millions of dollars of U.S. produce exports, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports.

A French ban on the sales of fruit and vegetables with identifying stickers threatens exports of U.S. sweet potatoes (about $20 million in sales annually) and grapefruit ($8 million annually), according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report.

If France implements article 80 as scheduled on Jan. 1, 2022, U.S. exporters will only be able to ship grapefruit without stickers, creating logistical and marketing difficulties, according to the report.

Products shipped to another EU country, such as Netherland or Belgium, with stickers affixed could not be rerouted to France.
Overall, this rule could severely limit the volume of grapefruits exported to France in 2022 as well as impact sweet potatoes sold with stickers.

The ban on stickers is scheduled to be implemented on Jan. 1, 2022. 

“Most U.S. grapefruits and some sweet potatoes shipped overseas bear stickers for traceability and marketing purposes,” the report said. 
French fruit and vegetable producers and importers will also face a ban on plastic packaging, the report said.

Ed Treacy, vice president of supply chain and chain and sustainability for the Produce Marketing Association, said the issue is critical for U.S. exporters.

"On May 29, 2021, I sent letter to the French Government on behalf of PMA and IFPS explaining that their regulation would be disruptive for trade and decrease overall consumption of fruits and vegetables in France," Treacy said. "PMA has also engaged with the USD State Department in efforts to convince the French Government to modify the regulation due to the trade implications."

Treacy said the issue is the home composability requirement for produce stickers.

"While some home compostable labels are currently available, they are only appropriate for a limited number of items, as the adhesive is not sufficient for many produce items," he said. "Many label companies are currently working on the development of a label that is home compostable that will be appropriate for all fruits and vegetables. "
He said PMA is working to identify sources of funding and researchers who can meaningfully contribute to developing the combination of substrate, ink and adhesive that are home compostable.

"We are confident that we will eventually develop a fully functional home compostable PLU label, but it is 3-5 years away from being fully in place."

Anti-waste law

In February 2020, the French parliament passed the anti-waste law for a circular economy

The aim of the legislators, according to the report, was to change France’s production and consumption model in order to limit waste and preserve natural resources, biodiversity and protect against climate change.

The bill has five main goals:

  • eliminate disposable plastic;
  • provide consumers better information;
  • reduce waste and increase recycling;
  • prohibit companies from developing products that have an embedded expiry date, known as planned obsolescence; and
  • improve production methods.

While the bill addresses many non-agricultural issues, two articles specifically target the fruit and vegetable sector, according to the report. 

Article 77 prohibits plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables when its weight is below 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds), according to the report. 
It also allows for exceptions for fruit and vegetables that cannot be packaged in non-plastic packaging.

Article 80 prohibits non-compostable stickers on fruits and vegetables sold in France with implementation as soon as Jan. 1 next year.
The ban on plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables was added during the parliamentary discussion of the bill.

According to several sources, it was a trade-off for removing a similar ban on plastic packaging for dairy products after large French dairy companies lobbied against such a prohibition.

“Because of the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic, the bill and those two articles remained unnoticed by most of the French fruit and vegetable sector until later in 2020,” the report said. 

While most fruits and vegetables are sold in bulk in France, the report said plastic packaging is still widely used for the marketing of fragile fruits and vegetables such as strawberries and other berries, stone fruits, cherry tomatoes, some salads and trimmed vegetables like fresh green beans and peas. Avocados and mangoes are also occasionally packed in plastic. The main goal of such packaging is to reduce spoiling and the waste at point of sale, the report said.

In September 2020, the French National Council for Food published a report listing exempted products

Based on that report, the French government proposed a decree listing the exempted fruit and vegetables as well as the term of the exemption. Of interest to U.S. exporters, cranberries and lingonberries would be exempted from the ban on plastic packaging until Dec. 31, 2024. 

Because the restriction on plastic packaging could hamper the free flow of trade between France and other EU Member States, France notified the proposed decree to the Commission under the TRIS system, the USDA report said.

Both the Commission and Spain delivered comments, as well as numerous organizations and foreign countries including the U.S.
Because of the comments by the Commission and Spain, the period for comments has been extended to Sept. 13 this year.

France could either disregard the comments and face potential litigation because of its infringement on the EU common market or amend its proposed decree to address the concerns.

Ban on non-compostable stickers

The article 77 of the law for a circular economy specifically prohibits non-home-compostable stickers on any fruit and vegetables sold in France beginning on Jan. 1, 2022, the report said.

Stickers are widely used on fruits and vegetables whether domestically produced or imported. The report noted stickers are primarily used to differentiate the higher quality products, for branding, or to facilitate the purchases with a PLU code. 

“Without a sticker it is nearly impossible to differentiate between an organic golden delicious apple produced in France and a normal golden delicious apple imported when both are sold in bulk,” the report said.

“The lack of stickers could lead marketers of higher quality products (including organic products) to move away from bulk sales and sell their products packaged. This rule therefore could paradoxically increase packaging, the opposite of its goal,” the report said.

Although article 80 bans non-home-compostable stickers, the report said there is no internationally recognized norm for home-composting of stickers, and thus stickers manufacturers cannot use the NF EN 13-432 norm applicable to industrial composting.

TUV Austria is working on the norm EN 17-427 for the home composting of packages, the report said.

While the paper used for the sticker can be home compostable, the adhesive may not, as its technical characteristics could interfere with composting, according to the report.

Placing stickers on fruit and vegetables is done at the packaging station close to the production site in many cases. 

“As most fruits and vegetables are freely traded within the EU single market, a French-only ban on stickers create logistical hurdles for fruits and vegetable packers and exporters as they would have to dedicate lines of products destined only to the French market,” the report said. France has not notified the sticker ban to the EU Commission through the TRIS system, but from the contributions to the Article 77 decree, France’s trading partners would consider the sticker ban as a technical barrier to trade.

Several French fruit and vegetable organizations have asked parliament amend article 80 in subsequent legislation to grant a longer delay as no technical solution will be available for several years, but this effort has not been effective to date, according to the report.

While the French Ministry of Agriculture seemed more receptive to the producers’ concerns, the French Ministry of Ecology is against making this allowance.

 


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