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UNIVERSAL CAVIAR LABELLING REQUIREMENTS
All sturgeon caviar BACKGROUND
containers in domestic and
international trade have to All species of sturgeon and paddlefish have been listed in the Appendices of the
bear a non-reusable label Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
containing details about the (CITES) since 1998.Two species—the Common or Baltic Sturgeon Acipenser sturio
source and the country of and the Shortnose Sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum—are listed in Appendix I of
the Convention,which prohibits any international commercial trade.All other
origin of the caviar. species are listed in Appendix II,whereby international trade is regulated by
Governments around the governments through a system of permits.
world have agreed to a
universal caviar labelling With the aim of facilitating the legal caviar trade around the world and allowing the
system with the aim of easy identification of the source and origin of caviar,governments agreed at a CITES
ensuring that all caviar meeting in 2000 to introduce a standardized labelling system for all caviar exports.
entering the market is from Two years later,they extended the labelling requirements and agreed that all caviar
legal sources. The caviar containers in trade,whether imported,exported,re-exported or in domestic
markets,should bear a label that would contain a specific set of information,including
labelling system helps the country of origin and the year of harvest,to allow identification of the source of
governments, traders and the caviar.Governments agreed that,as of January 2004,they would only accept
consumers in distinguishing imported caviar shipments marked according to the labelling guidelines.In addition
legal caviar in trade from to this they agreed that all caviar sold on domestic markets would also require labels,
illegal caviar. This leaflet including caviar that is re-packaged.A detailed description of information that needs
highlights requirements that to be included on the labels can be found in CITES Resolution Conf.12.7(Rev.CoP14).
governments and the caviar
As a result of these developments,governments around the world have started to
industry need to implement enact and implement legal and administrative measures at the national level to meet
under the universal caviar the CITES provisions on caviar labelling.In May 2006,the European Union (EU)
labelling system. adopted Commission Regulation (EC) No.865/2006,
later amended by Regulation (EC) No.100/2008,
which has made the labelling of all caviar containers
obligatory in all EU Member States.As a result,all
caviar containers in the EU market,regardless of
their size,are required to bear a CITES label.
:Emma Duncan/WWF-Canon the trade and marketing of caviar (including
It is therefore essential that everyone involved in
importers, exporters, wholesalers, retailers,
restaurants and travel businesses,such as cruise
aware of the labelling requirements so that all can
Credit ship operators,airlines and luxury hotels) are
adequately implement and comply with the new
Beluga caviar can fetch retail prices ofu ptoEUR600per100g.
