At a working lunch in Brussels on Monday 26 September, EU agriculture ministers discussed the future of food labelling and front-of-package nutrition labelling, which provide consumers with valuable information on the products they buy.
The revision of food labelling rules is part of the EU’s ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy.
This informal discussion between the EU agriculture ministers was intended to help the European Commission prepare a legislative proposal on the dossier, which is expected soon.
The ministers agreed that it was necessary to “revise the existing legislation” (Regulation 1169/2011 of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers) “in order to better inform consumers”, as Zdeněk Nekula, the Czech Minister of Agriculture, who chaired the EU Council meeting, told the press.
Regarding nutritional information on the front of food packaging, “many Member States are waiting for the Commission’s proposal and impact assessment” on this sensitive issue, which includes the Nutri-score, the minister added. He admitted that “many Member States support voluntary rules, but a number of countries have called for a harmonised labelling system”.
One group of countries believes that mandatory labelling “could have a negative impact on consumers, as regional products would be presented in a negative light”, Nekula continued in response to a journalist’s question.
“The southern Member States are rather more in favour of maintaining the benefits of regional specialities to avoid any loss of value for consumers. These fears are not unfounded”, said the Czech minister. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)