With the European Commission due to adopt its vision for the future of agriculture and food in mid-February, EuroHealthNet called, on Thursday 30 January, for measures to be taken to “reduce the consumption and omnipresent availability of ultra-processed foods” in order to improve health across Europe.
The consumption of ultra-processed foods (containing preservatives, emulsifiers, modified starches, artificial sweeteners and flavour enhancers) is growing and is increasingly damaging people’s health, argues EuroHealthNet.
Today, Europeans get an average of 27% of their daily calorie intake from these ultra-processed foods, with some countries even reaching 44%, according to the organisation, which is calling for the following actions: provide for mandatory and uniform nutritional labelling on the front of packaging throughout the EU, require producers to improve the nutritional profile of their products, restrict the marketing and advertising of these harmful foods to children, support high-quality food in public procurement, especially in schools, and reduce VAT on fruit and vegetables.
For further details: https://aeur.eu/f/fa9 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)