La Unió Llauradora secures removal of traditional imagery from SOS rice packaging

The agricultural organization La Unió Llauradora has successfully pressured the rice brand SOS, owned by Ebro Foods, to remove images of 'falleras' (traditional Valencian festival participants) from its packaging. This action follows efforts by the organization to ensure compliance with European labeling regulations for products sold in the Valencian Community.

While viewing the removal of these images as a step forward, La Unió Llauradora stated that their campaign is not over. The group is now demanding that rice brands clearly indicate the actual country of origin on their packaging. The organization has criticized large rice companies operating in the Valencian Community for prioritizing imported rice over local varieties without specifying the source.

La Unió Llauradora also criticized major distributors for failing to take responsibility for identifying the origin of rice, noting that some products use local distributors and Valencian symbols to mislead consumers into believing imported rice is local. The group previously requested a formal investigation from the Generalitat regarding the labeling of brands like La Fallera and SOS, citing EU Regulation 1169/2011, which mandates origin disclosure when its omission could mislead consumers.