Agriculture Ministry introduces new label to designate Czech foodstuffs

New legislation will make it impossible for companies to use suggestive logos or slogans designating “Czech quality” in foodstuffs which by and large are produced elsewhere, news website iDnes reports. Instead, one logo – a picture of the Czech flag underlined by the words ‘Česká potravina’ – will be available for use by companies that meet the necessary requirements: namely, that the foodstuffs in question are produced fully or largely in the Czech Republic and mostly from Czech ingredients.

Marián Jurečka, foto: ČT

Fruit, vegetables, meat and milk produced 100 percent in the Czech Republic will all be eligible for the new Czech foodstuff label “Česká potravina” ; in the case of semi-cooked or additionally-processed products, those using up to 75 percent of Czech ingredients and made mostly on Czech soil, will be eligible as well. The new logo is the result of an Agriculture Ministry plan to properly designate Czech products – and not let just anyone use the designation “Czech” to serve as a sign of quality.

The logo, a simple Czech flag against a white field, within a rounded box, was chosen from hundreds of proposals by designers who stood to earn 90,000 crowns, a ministry spokesman told iDnes. In the end, that will not be paid out, as the ministry went with an in-house proposal. Legislation counting on the new logo and designation is expected to pass in Parliament and to go into effect in mid-2016.

Under those conditions, there will be edibles which fail to meet all of the requirements, which cannot come solely from Czech ingredients, chocolate among them. There, firms will at least be able to apply for the designation Made in the Czech Republic as a sign of quality. Meanwhile, anyone ignoring the designation, using labels to confuse buyers in the future, could face a fine of up to 10 million crowns, according to iDnes.