Brussels, 15/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - Promoting healthy eating to tackle excess weight, obesity and other food-related conditions is one of the ambitions of the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU, Netherlands Health Minister Edith Schippers told the MEPs on the environment, health and food safety committee on Thursday 14 January as she presented the work programme for the first half of this year (see EUROPE 11468).
For convenience to chime with good health, the Dutch Presidency wants to improve the composition of food products so that eating a normal diet will not mean a high intake of salt, sugar, saturated fatty acids or calories for consumers.
“Prepared foods have far too high a content of these. The agrifood industry is cross-border. Yet there is no harmonised approach. We have to try to simplify things”, said Schippers.
To this end, the Presidency will hold a conference of stakeholders in Amsterdam on 22 and 23 February to discuss what the EU can do to improve the quality of food. Representatives of the member states, the agrifood industry and NGOs will consider measures to be taken to bring a swift improvement in the products available. The aim will be to produce a roadmap that will be discussed at the informal Health Council in April.
The Commission published a report in December on trans fatty acids, “which represent a threat to people's health and can be replaced with healthier fatty acids”, recommending that limit values be determined and will open a public consultation and an impact study (see EUROPE 11445). The Presidency is awaiting the conclusions of these efforts, said Schippers. She gave assurances that she will continue to press the Commission to present its report on the labelling of alcoholic drinks which was expected in December 2014.
Replying to MEPs who asked her where she stood on antibiotic-resistant GMOs, she said that she would await the conclusions of the scientists. “Studies are being carried out in the Netherlands and in other member states.” Urged by MEPs to give very careful attention to and take account of Parliament's arguments for a total ban on cloning for food purposes, Schippers pointed out that this matter did not fall within her remit. She indicated, however, that the Commission would shortly launch a study on the compulsory labelling of fresh meat and meat from the offspring of cloned animals. “When the report is ready, a debate will be held in Council”, she said. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)