COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of marketing standards (contained in the CMO Regulation, the ‘Breakfast Directives’ and CMO secondary legislation)
Date: 2020-10-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, agricultural trade, application of EU law, common organisation of markets, consumer information, foodstuff, labelling, marketing standard, product quality

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.10.2020  SWD(2020) 231 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  of marketing standards (contained in the CMO Regulation, the ‘Breakfast Directives’ and CMO secondary legislation) {SWD(2020) 230 final}  
 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Since  the  early  days  of  the  common  agricultural  policy  (CAP),  marketing  standards  have 
been a feature of agricultural and food product quality policies; their aim has been to address 
consumer  expectations,  to  help  improve  the  economic  conditions  for  producing  and 
marketing  agricultural  products,  and  to  improve  their  quality1.  Under  today´s  CAP,  EU 
marketing standards aim to ensure that the market can be easily supplied with products of a 
standardised and satisfactory quality; they do this through technical definitions, classification, 
presentation, marking and labelling, packaging, the production method, conservation, storage, 
transport,  related  administrative  documents,  certification  and  time  limits,  restrictions  of  use 
and disposal2. 

The EU marketing standards currently in force are set out in three main bodies of legislation:  

 

the  common  market  organisation  (‘single  CMO’)  established  by  Regulation  (EU) 
No 1308/20133; 

  a  number  of  regulations  (‘secondary  CMO  legislation’)  setting  product-specific 

marketing standards4;  

  a number of directives establishing rules on the description, definition, characteristics 
and  labelling  of  a  number  of  agricultural  and  food  products  usually  consumed  for 
breakfast5 (those Directives are therefore known as the ‘Breakfast Directives’). 

The evaluation aimed to determine if the EU marketing standards for food products currently 
in  force  are  meeting  their  objectives,  and/or  are  useful  and  sufficient  for  the  stakeholders 
concerned 
retailers,  consumers,  Members  States´ 
administrations).  The  evaluation  covers  the  period  from  2014,  when  the  current  Common 
Market Organisation Regulation entered into force, and covers all EU Member States6. The 
evaluation covers a wide range of sectors that are subject to marketing standards.  

(producers,  processors, 

traders, 

The  findings  of  the  evaluation  should  be  interpreted  knowing  that  there  were  a  number  of 
limitations, notably  a heavier reliance on qualitative, rather than quantitative analysis and  a 
limited  availability  of  reliable  data;  this  results  in  an  uneven  level  of  detail  of  the  analysis 
across sectors, making it difficult to draw general conclusions on marketing standards. 

The  evaluation  concludes  that  EU  marketing  standards  have  generally  been  effective  in 
achieving  their  intended  objectives,  without  causing  significant  unintended/unexpected 

1  See Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, recital 65. 
2  See Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, recital 71. 
3 The ‘single CMO’ Regulation sets A) marketing standards for: olive oil and table olives; fruit and vegetables; 
processed fruit and vegetable products; bananas; live plants; eggs; poultry meat; spreadable fats intended for 
human consumption; hops; B) definitions, designations and sales descriptions for: beef and veal; wine; milk 
and milk products intended for human consumption; poultry meat; eggs; spreadable fats intended for human 
consumption; olive oil and table olives; C) optional reserved terms for: poultry meat, eggs and olive oil. 

4 Setting marketing standards for: olive oils; fresh and processed fruits and vegetables; bananas; eggs; hatching 

eggs and poultry chicks; poultry meat; bovine meat; hops; spreadable fats; milk and milk products. 

5  Coffee  and  chicory  extracts;  cocoa  and  chocolate  products;  sugars  intended  for  human  consumption;  fruit 
jams,  jellies  and  marmalades  and  sweetened  chestnut  purée  intended  for  human  consumption;  dehydrated 
milk; fruit juices; honey. 

6  Including the United Kingdom 

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effects  (including  ‘deadweight’7).  The  few  limitations  of  marketing  standards  in  terms  of 
effectiveness concern specific sectors and relate to specific aspects, mainly due to the lack of 
robust  quantitative  data.  The  assessment  identifies  a  number  of  success  stories  of  the 
effectiveness  of  EU  marketing  standards,  such  as  the  rules  on  the  optional  reserved  terms 
(types of farming) for poultry meat and the rules for indicating the farming methods applied 
for laying hens. 

Although  neither  costs  nor  benefits  are  fully  quantifiable,  most  Member  States  and  the 
majority  of  the  business  associations  and  operators  consulted  consider  the  costs  of  EU 
marketing standards to be justifiable and proportionate to the benefits achieved regardless of 
the  sector.  Overall,  limited  potential  was  found  for  the  simplification  of  EU  marketing 
standards, including the certification procedure for hops and the marketing standards for fresh 
fruit  and  vegetables  and  olive  oil.  Consumers  seemed  insufficiently  aware  of  marketing 
standards and their benefits, to make a robust assessment of whether from their point of view 
the cost of EU marketing standards was proportional to the benefits.  

There  is  some  room  for  improving  the  relevance  of  EU  marketing  standards.  Even  if  EU 
marketing  standards  are  found  to  be  generally  pertinent  to  the  needs  identified  by 
stakeholders, the assessment revealed that their capacity to address new needs, problems and 
emerging  novel  issues  encountered  by  stakeholders  could  be  improved.  In  particular,  the 
assessment  identified  some  limitations  of  EU  marketing  standards  in  keeping  up  with  the 
changes  in  technology,  marketing  strategies  and  consumer  preferences  without  impeding 
innovation, and in addressing potential side effects in terms of food waste in certain sectors. 

The  evaluation  concludes  positively  that  EU  marketing  standards  are  coherent,  within  the 
related  CAP  regulatory  framework  (internal  coherence)  and  with  other  EU  rules  that  are 
relevant  for  producing  and  marketing  agricultural  and  food  products,  as  well  as  with 
international  and  private  marketing  standards  (external  coherence).  There  is  however  a 
significant cross-sectoral issue of coherence due to the combination of various requirements 
under EU marketing standards relating to product quality, food safety (e.g. requirements on 
storage  temperatures,  or  minimum  durability  with  ‘best  before’  date  for  eggs)  and  the 
provision  of  food  information  to  consumers  (product  labelling  requirements).  According  to 
some of the national competent authorities consulted, such a combination results in overlaps 
and inconsistencies, posing challenges for enforcement and controlling activities. 

EU  marketing  standards  also  add  significant  value  to  international  and  private  marketing 
standards.  This  added  value  mainly  stems  from  their  mandatory  nature  (i.e.  the  related 
requirements must be complied with across the EU), from requirements being tailored to the 
specific  operational  and  market  situation  of  the  EU,  and  due  to  the  rather  demanding 
minimum quality requirements for many products. The evaluation finds potential advantages 
in setting EU marketing standards for sectors/products currently not covered (e.g. cheese and 
cider), mainly to tackle unaddressed needs and increase the benefits for stakeholders8.  

7  ‘Deadweight’: effects that would have arisen even without the intervention – i.e. without the establishment EU 

marketing standards - had not taken place. 

8  Notably: improved market access for producers; improved transparency on the market; promotion of intra-EU 
trade in the products concerned stemming from harmonisation of varying national legislation (i.e. removal of 
technical barriers to trade); definition of minimum quality standards for the products concerned, to the benefit 
of  both  consumers  and  business  stakeholders;  contribution  to  improved  average  quality  of  the  products 

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The  results  of  the  evaluation  may  contribute  to  the  reflection  and  debate  on  a  need  for 
regulatory  changes  for  marketing  standards,  including  the  potential  for  simplification.  The 
findings  may  also  feed  into  a  Commission  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the 
European  Council,  which,  in  accordance  with  Article  75(6)  of  Regulation  1308/2013,  is 
required  before  any  change  can  be  made  in  the  list  of  products  covered  by  marketing 
standards.  

concerned;  provision  of  improved  and  more  homogeneous  information  on  the  concerned  products  to 
consumers. 

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