Position Papers

To help its members deliver on the EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, Euroglaces has developed an Action Plan calling upon the European ice cream industry to take their own corporate actions to implement the EU Code’s aspirational objectives, on a voluntary basis, around “Healthy, balanced, and sustainable diets for all European consumers”, “An optimised circular and resource-efficient food chain in Europe” and “Sustainable sourcing in food supply chains”.

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Vanilla is a key flavour used in ice cream and therefore critical to the consumer’s enjoyment of many ice cream types. Euroglaces guidance on the sustainability and security of the vanilla supply chain describes the complexities surrounding sustainable vanilla production and calls for ice cream industry actions to continue making the natural vanilla supply chain more sustainable going forward.

The ice cream industry offers a variety of packaging formats, ranging from single portion packs to multi-portion packs. Euroglaces believes that providing front-of-pack nutrition information per portion-size is a meaningful tool and the right information to empower consumers to make an informed choice and to control their calorie intake in the framework of an overall balanced diet.

The Euroglaces Guidance on the Origin Indication of the Primary Ingredient in Edible Ices provides a common understanding of the ‘primary ingredient’ definition for the edible ices sector in the context of the Implementing Regulation (EU) N° 2018/775 laying down rules for the application of Article 26(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 concerning the provision of information on the country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient of a food where different to that given for the food.

The ice cream industry offers a variety of packaging formats, ranging from single portion packs to multi-portion packs. 
The sector’s approach to portion size is as follows:  

1. A significant proportion of the ice cream portfolio marketed in Europe consists of single portion packs. These are individually pre-packed, pre-portioned ice creams intended to be consumed by an individual at a single consumption occasion. Examples include ice cream sticks, ice cream cones, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cups, etc. 

The portion size of a single portion pack is obvious, they simply coincide. The portion size is clearly recognizable, well defined and intended to be consumed by an individual at a single consumption occasion. 

It is highly unlikely that single portion packs equal 100g/100 ml which is the standard expression form for mandatory nutrition declaration in the EU. Most single portion packs marketed across Europe are below 100g and range between 50 ml to 130 ml.  
Therefore, providing front-of-pack nutrition information per portion for single serve packs is the appropriate way to correctly inform consumers of the actual nutrient content they intend to consume, without requiring them to calculate or estimate the nutrient content themselves starting from a value per 100g/100ml. 
In the case of a front-of-pack nutrition scheme/symbol which only illustrates the nutritional composition for 100g of product, this provides the wrong information to the consumer about the product’s real contribution to dietary intake, which is effectively controlled by single serve pack.

2. A smaller proportion of the ice cream portfolio marketed in Europe consists of multi-portion packs. These are mostly scooping ice creams intended for multiple or shared consumption occasions, e.g., trays, bulks, etc. Unlike for single portion packs, the portion size in a multi-portion pack is not clearly recognizable.

To help consumers understand what a typical portion of a multi-portion pack format is, Euroglaces recommends an EU sector-wide agreed portion size of 2 scoops, resulting in an average volume of 100 ml or 
its equivalent by weight. This portion size has been established within the European ice cream industry since 2006 and therefore is well recognised, for a period of more than 15 years, as an amount reasonably expected to be consumed by an individual in a single consumption occasion as part of an overall balanced diet.

Also, for multi-portion packs, providing front-of-pack nutrition information per portion is highly relevant as it allows consumers to better understand the nutritional contribution of the recommended portion.

Conclusion

Euroglaces believes that providing front-of-pack nutrition information per portion-size is a meaningful tool and the right information to empower consumers to make an informed choice and to control their calorie intake in the framework of an overall balanced diet. 

Article 26(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers requires that where the country of origin or the place of provenance of a food is given and where it is not the same as that of its primary ingredient, the country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient in question also be given or, at least, indicated as being different to that of the food. The Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/775 clarifies and harmonizes how the origin of the primary ingredient must be labelled.

To provide ice cream operators with a sector-wide understanding on the origin indication of the primary ingredient in Edible Ices, Euroglaces developed a Guidance. This Guidance should be read together with the relevant provisions of above-mentioned Regulations and be used complimentary to the joint FoodDrinkEurope, EuroCommerce and Primary Food Processors Guidance on the origin indication of the primary ingredient and the Commission notice on the application of the provisions of Article 26(3).