On 31 January 2024, the European Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement updating rules on the composition, name, labelling and presentation of four “breakfast” foodstuffs namely, honey, fruit juices, jams and milk. The revised directives aim to encourage transition towards healthier diets, empower consumers to make well-informed choices, and establish transparency regarding product origin. The following are the key elements of the provisions:  

1. Honey: The label will now indicate the countries of origin in descending order based on weight, with the percentage representing each country in the blend, enhancing transparency. 
2. Fruit Juices: In response to the demand for reduced-sugar products, the agreement introduces three new categories: “reduced sugar fruit juice”, “reduced-sugar fruit juice from concentrate”, and “concentrated reduced-sugar fruit juice”.  Operators can use the label “fruit juices contain only naturally occurring sugars” to better inform consumers. For the mixtures of fruit juice and concentrates, the labelling shall bear the words ‘from concentrate(s)’ or ‘partially from concentrates’, as appropriate. Coconut water may be used as a synonym for coconut juice. 
3. Fruit Jams: There will be higher mandatory fruit content in fruit jams.  Minimum fruit content in jams and extra jams will increase by 100g per kg for jams and 50g per kg for extra jams.  There will be clear distinction between two categories: 450g for jam and 500g for extra jam as a general rule to help consumers make healthier choices by reducing sugar content. Member States that do not authorize the use of the terms “marmalade” and “extra marmalade” for the product names “jam” and “extra jam”, may authorize, on their territory, the use of the indication “mixed fruit marmalade” or “[x] fruits marmalade”, where x is the number of fruits, in the case of citrus marmalade manufactured from three or more fruits. 
4. Milk: There will be simplified labeling by eliminating distinctions between "evaporated" and "condensed" milk, in line with the Codex Alimentarius standard.  For dehydrated milk, treatments producing lactose-free dehydrated milk products will be permitted. 

On 24 May 2024, the specific points for amendments and corresponding EU Breakfast Directive were published (bit.ly/EUBreakfastDirective). This agreement will take effect twenty (20) days after publication. Member States will have 18 months to implement the new provisions into national legislation and six (6) months to apply them across the Union. 

The Export Marketing Bureau strongly advises Philippine exporters to comply with the revised EU Breakfast Directives to ensure the continued acceptance of your products to the EU and other markets.  

For further questions and clarifications, you may contact EMB Market and Product Officers at mid@dti.gov.ph and famd@dti.gov.ph respectively.