RED, GREEN OR BLUE LABELS WILL DISTINGUISH MILK FROM SEPTEMBER 30

On March 5, we reported the adoption by the Council of State of a draft regulation on milk and its by-products. This regulation was established by a decree of March 25, to which the public probably did not pay all the attention it deserved at the time. Its implementation from September 30 will certainly be more noticed, because of the picturesque color that it will now put on the displays of creameries.

Wanting to avoid any possible confusion for consumers in the quality of the milk they buy, this decree prescribes that labels of different colors appear on containers and bottles, depending on the nature of the product contained. This is a system similar to that of railway tickets, the color of which varies according to the class.

First class milk, whole milk, not skimmed, sold as the cow gives it, will be recognizable by a red label, bearing in white letters the inscription: "non-skimmed milk". Semi-skimmed milk will bear a green label. For skimmed milk, in which only rare traces of fat remain, the label will be blue.

Consumers will thus be informed, without possible error, about the nature of the product they are buying. And it is quite obvious that labeling errors would expose traders to prosecution by the fraud repression service, which will exercise constant surveillance over sales thus made.

Let us add that this diversity of labels will be required only from traders selling different types of milk. Those who sell exclusively whole milk, or skimmed milk, will only have to provide themselves with one type of label.