This article is a brief rundown of the key legislative issues facing the vending industry at the moment. EVA members can of course login to our website in order to consult the latest EU Newsletter with further details and articles.

Ecodesign& Energy Labelling – EU Commission publishes final versions of Regulations.
The European Commission has published the Ecodesign & Energy Labelling requirements for refrigerated vending machines. The European Parliament and Council have until 7 June to raise any objections, but crucially neither body can amend these final texts.

The requirements to be placed on refrigerated vending machines, include banning the least efficient machines in two tiers – 2021 and 2023 – and introducing an official energy label on an A-G scale for refrigerated vending machines. We know from previous tests that the best performing vending machine today is expected to only be an energy Class C.

Ecodesign requires not only minimum energy performance targets, but also a range of other measures relating to design, spare parts as well as end of life/recycling.

Once final approval has been given by June to the Regulations, the EVA plans a communication campaign to ensure the industry is aware of these changes.


EVA Energy Measurement Protocol (EMP) 3.1a to be withdrawn.
While the rationale for withdrawing the EVA EMP 3.1a is well understood and agreed by EVA Technical experts, a final date for the withdrawal of the protocol will be decided at the next meeting of European vending manufacturers at EVMMA  on 8 May.

A date will be agreed whereby all references to the EMP 3.1 will need to be removed from websites, machine brochures, and all marketing materials.

Since the first version of the EN50597 was published at the end 2015, there has been a period of ambiguity whereby the EVA Technical Committee recommended that both the EVA Energy Measurement Protocol (EMP) 3.1a and EN50597 standard could be used simultaneously to measure energy consumption of refrigerated vending machines, as until the new Energy Labelling Regulation was approved the EMP remained the only protocol with an easy way to compare energy performance (via its unofficial energy scale).

This dual usage of protocols was only designed to be temporary until the EU Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations were approved, and was intended to last only a few months. Due to the unexpected delay from the EU Commission in finalising the new Regulations however, this period of ambiguity has lasted much longer than planned; a situation that can no longer sensibly continue for the industry. Especially now, as we know the content of the final EU Regulations (above).

The EVA will be publishing a formal communication to help manufacturers and operators explain what is changing and why.

NOTE: The EMP version 3.1b (hot and cold machines) still remains in force and will continue to do so. This information does not apply to the EMP 3.1b.

 

The Valencian Government creates a healthier vending badge.
The Public Health Department of the Government of Valencia has created a ‘healthy food’ badge for food and beverage vending machines.

The vending machines that voluntarily display the badge guarantee that their food supply complies with the requirements established in Article 4 of Decree 84/2018, promoting healthy and sustainable food. According to this decree, in establishments of an educational, health and social services nature, only products that meet the indicated nutritional criteria will be allowed

The nutritional criteria includes for example that the packaged products do not contain more than 200 calories, or 0.5g of salt, amongst many other requirements.