G/TBT/W/599  
14 March  2019 
(19-1581) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
EUROPEAN UNION – APPLICATION OF REGULATION (EU) N O. 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  
6 AND 7 MARCH 2019  
The following communication, dated 1 4 March  2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Colombia . 
 
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1.  Colombia reiterates its concern, already raised in document s G/TBT/W/467  and G/TBT/W/577 , 
regarding the measures and campaigns, both at European level and within EU member States, 
against the use or consumption of palm oil in different products, in which palm oil i s 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 (unvalidated 
by the competent authority), such as, for example, the indications "palm oil free" or "no palm oil" 
promoted in the EU.  
3.  Colombia believes that these practices (i) stigmatize the use of palm oil ; (ii) lack scientific 
justification ; (iii) discri minate 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, they constitute disguised technical barriers that are in consistent with the 
national treatment and MFN obligations in Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement and in Articles 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 "saturate s", "mono -unsaturate s" and "polyunsaturate s". The mandatory  food 
information  does not specify whether  the fat originates  from palm oil or another  source . Hence the 
negative label "palm oil free" does  not constit ute mandatory  food information and is contrary to the 
provisions of the regulation . 
5.  Similarly , it seems to us that the 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.  
6.  Moreover , Directive 2005/29/EC prohibits  unfair business -to-consumer commercial practices  and 
covers misleading commercial practices, which are a featu re of this particular case . The Directive 
provides that a commercial practice shall be regarded as misleading if it contains false information 
and is therefore untruthful  or information which, even if  correct, is likely to deceive the average  
consumer and cause him to take a transaction al 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 to be expect ed from its use, etc.).  G/TBT/W/599  
- 2 - 
  7.  Lastly , account must be taken of the i nterna tional standard Codex Stan 1 -19851 
(General  Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged 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  established in Section  3 (General Principles) of that 
standard . This international standard also indicates that " [p]repackaged food shall not be described 
or presented on any label or in any labelling  in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is 
likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character in any respect".  
8.  In view of the above, Colombia w ould like to know what kind of surveillance, control and 
monitoring systems the European authorities use to check the additional nutrition claims on the label 
indicating that the product is "palm oil free ". How can the European authorities guarantee the 
accuracy of the information provided on the labels of products claiming to be palm oil free prior to 
their placement on the market ? 
9.  In conclusion, Colombia considers that the European authorities have been remiss in their 
surveillance and control in connecti on with the verification and acceptance of additional claims that 
are being used to attribute to products special properties that have not been verified and scientifically 
substantiated, in particular the negative labelling "palm oil free", which ultimatel y constitutes 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 2.1 of the  TBT Agreement and Articles I:1 and III:4 of the 
GATT  1994.  
10.  Colombia appreciates this opportunity to make these observations, and looks forward to 
the EU's replies to its questions.  
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1 See in particular section 3 and section 7.1 of Codex Stan 1 -1985.