Overview
- EU regulators have repealed the rule that required marmalade to contain at least 20% citrus fruit, allowing more spreads to be sold as marmalade.
- Products that were labeled as Konfitüre because they lacked the citrus threshold can now be marketed as marmalade under the new rule.
- To keep composition clear for shoppers, any spread made from citrus must be labeled "Zitrusmarmelade" or by the specific fruit name.
- The 20% rule dated back to a 2001 EEC/EU directive rooted in British culinary tradition and was discussed politically as early as 2017 by Jakob von Weizsäcker.
- Manufacturers and retailers will need to change packaging and marketing, which could alter shelf labels and consumer recognition and may prompt price or product-line adjustments.