Beware of french washing

[Polarengineer]

Is there some rule that a certain percentage of the contents must be from the claimed country?

[RobertArthur]

Flexible rules:

* être entièrement obtenu en France (tous les composants sont issus de France et toutes les étapes de fabrication ont lieu en France),
* ou avoir subi sa dernière transformation substantielle en France.

C'est pourquoi un produit porteur d'une indication « Fabriqué en France » peut être composé de matières premières importées.

The WTO on Rules of Origin.


French source.

[exile]

In this, it is important to recognise the difference between fabriqué en France and confectioné en France. The latter only means put together and the components/ingredients could and usually do come from elsewhere.

[curtis]

Is that the same as "transformé en France" ?

[RobertArthur]

It's all under the same umbrella of "French washing" information:

' Please note that the words "Made in France", "Processed in France" or "Cooked in France" (which are very visible, particularly in promotional catalogues) in no way indicate the origin of the ingredients used to make the product. They simply indicate that the product has been processed in France. A cordon bleu, to return to this example, may well be labelled "made in France" and contain Brazilian chicken. '

[exile]

Is that the same as "transformé en France" ?

Essentially yes.

[Lori]

It really is shameful. It is clearly a ruse to fool people. I'd say it is a down right lie, but then the truth has become vague in every aspect of life, and it seems to be getting worse.

And it shouldn't be that way. It isn't hard to note where the contents of a product originates. It would just cost them more to keep updating the labels since they will buy, one day to the next, from the cheapest source. I imagine they also don't want you to know that the food you are about to consume came from a country with questionable agricultural and food handling rules. I always try to avoid food from China and a few other countries. It can be a real challenge. I recently wanted to buy sesame seeds. EVERY single package I picked up had no indication at all of where the product came from. I find jarred spices also don't note where the contents came from.

I've seen several labels that say the contents came from a country in the EU - no idea which one, but at least you have that much info.

[ajm]

I remember a deli in the UK that boasted that all its produce was sourced locally. It was - from the warehouse round the corner!!

[Hotrodder]

I'd say it is a down right lie, but then the truth has become vague in every aspect of life, and it seems to be getting worse.

Long term brainwash by those who stand to profit from keeping us ignorant of the facts.

[tagh]

Of course, there is another point to this; the EU encourages internal trade on the basis of equals, roughly but labelling everything “Made in X” is actually an encouragement of local nationalism, at which France is the expert. Surely therefore labelling of this type should be discouraged in the “Super State”?