Brussels, 31/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - It is out of the question for manufacturers to mislead consumers with unfounded health claims on foodstuffs. The committee on the environment, health and food safety at the European Parliament rejected, on 31 January, a proposal aimed at authorising the food industry to use the mention “x% less” on foodstuff labels (whether for sugar, fats or salt), to announce a reduced number of calories or specific nutrients. MEPs said such health claims were too vague not to be misleading. Glenys Willmott (S&D, UK), who is rapporteur on this dossier, managed to gather an alliance of MEPs from all political parties to block the way for this claim that had the backing of the Commission and the agri-food industry.
Willmott said she wished to ensure that EU legislation allows consumers to have confidence in nutritional and health claims, saying: “If a chocolate spread, for example, said it had '20% less saturated fat', you might think it was the healthier choice. In fact, it could still be the chocolate spread with the most saturated fat on the market. Consumers are naturally influenced by health and nutrition claims when comparing similar products on the supermarket shelf, and we can't allow those claims to be misleading”. Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA, France) was delighted with the no-vote, and asserted: “Saying that a product contains less fats without saying, moreover, that it contains considerable sugar and salt, misleads the consumer who believes he/she is buying a good healthy product. Health claims on food should therefore not be authorised unless they allow the consumers to clearly choose the healthiest food”. The European Consumers Bureau (BEUC) spoke along the same lines, saying that consumers need producers to step up their efforts in order to reduce the fat, salt or sugar content. Consumers certainly do not need an additional health claim, Monique Goyens, BEUC Director General said. The Parliament will take a stance in Brussels on 2 February. (AN/transl.jl)