French MPs vote for mandatory labelling of ‘home-made’ restaurant meals
French lawmakers have voted for mandatory labels for restaurant meals made from scratch using raw ingredients. However, a proposal to restrict the use of the term "restaurant" has been rejected.
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The label "fait maison", meaning "home-made" or "made on site", will have to be added to menus or displayed in restaurants for dishes “made on site using raw ingredients”.
The decision was part of a move by some MPs and restaurateur unions to distinguish quality restaurants from restaurants that simply reheat food or serve mainly ready-made meals delivered by suppliers.
The government wanted the label to be optional, but parliamentarians from the right-wing UMP and some socialist MPs argued hard for the labelling to be mandatory.
Restaurants would be fined for any fraudulent use of the term.
The minister for commerce and tourism, Sylvia Pinel, said the labelling would have to be “simple” and “readable”.
As part of the changes to consumer law, the UMP’s deputy mayor for the northern town of Touquet, Daniel Fasquelle, proposed tightening the term "restaurant" to denote only those place that make dishes using raw ingredients.
However, this amendment was rejected.
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