The Grenelle law, adopted last month by the French National Assembly and the Senate, limits packaging requirements to those needed for product safety, hygiene and logistics while excluding consumer acceptance (convenience).
Strict interpretation of the law could lead the French authorities to ban multi-packs; the system of grouping products using an extra layer of packaging to make it easier for consumers to handle the product. Officials may demand packaging that uses less material but inconveniences consumers because it is difficult to open or to handle.
Food and beverage
Julian Carroll, Europen’s managing director told FoodProductionDaily.com how the law could affect food and beverage manufacturers. “If a yoghurt manufacturer decides to package eight individual pots with a cardboard wrap around, French officials could conclude that consumers don’t need the wrap around and rule against it.”
If the law is zealously enforced it could cause a logistical marketing and distribution nightmare for companies, he continued. Companies would be required to comply with one set of packaging rules within all EU member states except one and a different, more rigorous set of rules in France.
Picking another example close to French hearts Carroll said: “I would be interested to see the reaction of French consumers if the traditional champagne bottle was ordered to be replaced by a lighter weight container on the grounds that it did not comply with the Essential Requirements despite ample evidence that consumers demand the time-honoured method of packaging.”
Europen has called on the European Commission to start EU Treaty infringement proceedings against France.
Packaging Waste
It says the Grenelle law is a revision of a 1998 French Decree which transposed Essential Requirements from the 1994 EU Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste into French law. Consumer acceptance of packaging is one of the requirements. Since the directive, adopted by the European Parliament and Council, is an EU harmonised directive, member states are bound by its requirements and have no powers to amend it unilaterally.
“We have asked the Commission to act promptly in this case to prevent any possible disruption to the internal market for packaging and packaged goods,” said Carroll. “Having a harmonised EU packaging law is essential to avoid the possibility that goods manufactured in one EU member state may be prevented from being sold in another simply because of different rules about packaging.”