G/TBT/W/664  
19 July 2019 
(19-4805) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
EUROPEAN UNION - APPLICATION OF REGULATION (EU)  NO. 1169/2011  
AND REGULATION (EC) NO.  1924/2006  AS REGARDS THE  LABELLING  
OF FOOD PRODUCTS,  IN NOT PROHIBITING  OR EXAMINING  
THE USE OF "PALM OIL FREE" LABELS  
STATEMENT BY COLOMBIA TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE  
20 AND 21 JUNE 2019  
The following communication, dated 1 8 July 2019, is being circulated at the request of the delegation 
of Colombia . 
 
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1.  Colombia reitera tes its concern , which has been  expressed  in documents G/TBT/W/467 , 
G/TBT/W/577  and G/TBT/W/599 , regarding  the measures and campaigns  both at European level 
and in EU Member States against the use or consumption of palm oil in various products , in which 
palm oil is identified as harmful to health and destructive to the environment.  
2.  One of these measures involves "negative labelling" of certain products, where the label 
highlights nutritional and health properties  that the items in question do not possess ( without this 
being validated by the competent authority ). This is the case with the indications "palm oil free" or 
"no palm oil".  
3.  Colombia believes  that these practices  (i) stigmatiz e the use of palm oil ; (ii) lack scientific  
justification ; (iii) discriminate  against palm oil as opposed to like products ; and (iv) disregard  the 
processes developed by the palm oil agro -industry under  international environmental sustainability  
standards . Consequently, the se types of labelling constitute disguised tech nical barriers that are 
inconsistent with the national treatment  and MFN obligation s in Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement 
and in Article s I:1 and III.4 of the GATT 1994. 
4.  Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011, which relates to food labelling, makes the provision of food 
information mandatory, including in relation to fats . We note that the expression and presentation 
of "fats" covers "saturates", "mono -unsaturates" and "polyunsaturates" . The mandatory food 
information does not specify the source of the fat, and so th e words "palm oil free" do not constitute 
mandatory food information and are contrary to the regulation.  
5.  The use of th ese labels  can create confusion and give rise to a mistaken interpretation by 
consumers regarding the potential  effects  of food products c ontaining palm oil. The use of these 
labels without any scientific basis gives rise to unfair competition , and we urge the EU to remain 
consistent  with Article  36(2) of Chapter  V of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on food information, 
which states  that food information provided on a voluntary basis shall  not mislead the consumer , 
shall not be ambiguous  or confusing for the consumer and shall, where appropriate , be based on the 
relevant scientific data. 
6.  In our opinion, th e same regulation establishes the illegality of misleading claims  on the 
packaging of products for human consumption . Chapter V stipulates  that such labelling : (i) shall not 
mislead the consumer ; (ii) shall be based on relevant scientific data; (iii) shall be objective and 
non-discriminatory ; (iv) shall not be applied in such a way as to create obstacles to the free 
movement of goods ; and (v) shall not lead to unfair competition.  G/TBT/W/664  
- 2 - 
  7.  Moreover, Directive 2005/29/EC prohibits unfair business -to-consumer commercial practices and 
in this case in particular we identify misleading commercial practices . The Directive provides that a 
commercial practice shall be regarded as misleading if it contains false information and is therefore 
untruthful or informa tion which, even if correct, is likely to deceive the average consumer and cause 
him to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise . The above types of 
misleading information relate, inter alia , to the main characteristics of the product (its benefits, risks, 
composition, geographical origin, the results expected from its use, etc.).  
8.  Furthermore, account must be taken of the international standard Codex Stan 1 -1985 
(General  Standard for the Labelling of Prepa ckaged Foods), which establishes that any information 
may be shown on the label, provided that it is not in conflict with the mandatory requirements, 
including those relating to claims and deception . This international standard also indicates that 
"[p]repa ckaged food shall not be described or presented on any label in a manner that is false, 
misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character in any 
respect".  
9.  How do the European authorities guarantee  that labelling a product "palm oil free" does not 
mislead the consumer or present deliberately  confusing information ? How do the European 
authorities ensure that label ling that directly attack s a particular product is not used to benefit the 
market position of similar a nd directly  competing products ? What measures are being adopted to 
ensure conditions  of fair competition?  
10.  In conclusion, Colombia considers that the European authorities have been remiss in their 
surveillance and control in connection with the verification  and acceptance of additional claims that 
are being used to attribute to products special properties that have not been verified or scientifically 
substantiated, in particular the negative labelling "palm oil free" used by companies, which ultimately 
const itutes a disguised trade restriction designed to discriminate against palm oil as opposed to 
other similar oils and has been accepted as deceptive advertising in violation of the national 
treatment and MFN  obligations contained in Article 2 of the TBT Agre ement and Articles I and III of 
the GATT  1994.  
11.  Colombia thanks the EU for the bilateral meeting and for the opportunity to submit these 
comments . We await with interest the EU's replies to the questions that have been raised.  
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