Where do the almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios we eat come from? Stop anonymity. With 2025 the obligation to label the origin of dried fruit (and not only) comes into force. This is a 1.1 billion euro sector and Italy is among the main producers. What changes?
The new European regulation (n. 2429 of 17 August 2023), in force this year, establishes that the origin of certain foods must be clearly indicated on the label. The obligation concerns shelled or dried fruit (such as hazelnuts, almonds, dried figs and pistachios) and other fresh foods (such as capers, saffron and fresh-cut salads).
The legislation aims to protect consumers and enhance local productions, such as Made in Italy. The dried fruit sector is in fact central in our country. According to Coldiretti (2023 data) families purchased over 115 million kilos, spending more than 1.1 billion euros. Compared to 2020, consumption increased by 11% in quantity and 16% in value. Italy consumes, but is also one of the main producers of nuts, with over 270 thousand tons of hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, chestnuts and pistachios.
Despite these numbers, the sector has been penalized in recent years by the effects of climate change, which has reduced yields by 7%. The consequence has been the importation of increasing quantities of dried fruit from countries with less stringent food safety standards, such as Turkey and Iran. The legislation acts precisely on this. The indication of origin must in fact be more visible on the label than that of the country of packaging. If the product, for example, comes from one country and is packaged in another, the latter will now have to be written in smaller characters than the one that indicates to citizens where the raw material comes from.
The mandatory label will therefore allow consumers to make more informed choices and avoid products that may not comply with European safety standards. For Italian producers, the regulation is an opportunity to enhance national excellence. A protection for Made in Italy, which asks for measures to support national production, which, with the growing demand for dried fruit, is unable to respond as it once did. Dependence on imports is an issue that worries the Italian supply chain.
However, there remains an exception, which is worrying. In fact, the legislation does not apply to processed products, such as sweets and hazelnut creams. Many producers also indicate the origin of the ingredients, but it is a voluntary action, there is not yet an obligation. Coldiretti has started a campaign to extend the obligation to foods made with dried fruit, collecting signatures for a European law proposal. But at the moment the first step has been taken. The gray area remains.
