Brussels, 15/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - There is no question that health claims extolling the virtues of caffeine in energy drinks will be allowed because these drinks contain too much sugar for the very young clientele who are attracted to them. On Wednesday 15 June in Brussels, the European Parliament Energy Committee chaired by Giovanni Giovanni La Via (EPP Italy) made this quite clear.
By a show of hands, MEPs vetoed the European Commission project to authorise this kind of claim by amending Regulation 432/2013, which lists the health claims contained in foodstuffs other than those that refer to disease risk reduction and child development and health.
MEPs point out that claims that "caffeine helps to boost alertness and concentration" would mean promoting drinks containing an enormous amount of sugar (a 250ml can of energy drink can contain up to 27g of sugar and 80mg of caffeine) when 68% of adolescents and 18% of children regularly consume energy drinks. This would be in total contradiction to the objectives set out in Regulation 1924/2006 on food health claims, MEPs explain.
With this vote for an objection, they are calling on the Commission to proceed to the withdrawal of this draft and revise it. They also call on the Commission to immediately begin work on establishing nutritional profiles, as stipulated in Article 4 of the 2006 regulation, which has never been introduced due to resistance from the food industry and the Commission REFIT programme, for a more concise and more highly performing regulation (see EUROPE 11531).
They are also calling on the Commission to examine the introduction of restrictions on the sales of energy drinks to children and adolescents. MEPs from the EPP group would have liked to have removed all references to nutritional profiles because this subject is dividing the political groups. The EPP will be submitting an amendment in this direction before the plenary session vote planned for July. MEP Christel Schaldemose (S&D, DK) said that "We will try and find a solution before the plenary" and before the draft objection is approved.
The European Commission representative said that with the absence of nutritional profiles, it will nonetheless be possible to move forward with the health claims that have received a favourable scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Agency but MEPs were unconvinced by this. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)