Brussels, 30/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission intends to go ahead with a reform and modernisation of the rules applicable to the labelling of foodstuffs in order to enable consumers who wish to opt for a healthy, balanced diet to make an informed choice on the basis of the necessary essential, clear and readable information.
This is the main objective of the draft regulation on food labelling, approved on Wednesday 30 January by the college of Commissioners. Presenting the new initiative to the press, Markos Kyprianou, Health Commissioner, specified that this text is the product of a broad consultation of all stakeholders. “This is a balanced proposal which combines the objectives of consumer protection, health protection and better legislation through the simplification and updating of current legislation. For us, simplification is never synonymous with lowering standards but rather willingness to facilitate stakeholders' task in respecting basic standards in the internal market”, Mr Kyprianou stressed. The proposal will merge eight legislative texts on nutritional labelling in a single text, thereby offering “a coherent framework with a level playing field for all, without pointlessly burdening producers and without impinging on the level of consumer protection”, the Commissioner added.
Rather than bombarding the consumer with information, which in excess simply breeds confusion or creates more problems than it solves, the proposed text introduces the obligation to present key nutritional information on the label on the front of pre-packaged foods. This includes information such as the energy, salt content and fat content, with specific reference to sugars and saturates - including saturated fatty acids - per portion, per hundred millilitres or per hundred grams of the product. This is a major innovation.
By way of clarification, the text also establishes generally applicable principles for food labelling which actors must observe, notably the obligation to provide legible labels (written in characters at least 3 mm high) which are clear and precise, and a ban on any voluntary information which detracts from the obligatory information. Although the text specifies what information must be given, the Commission is leaving the presentation of the information entirely up to the Member States . “The substance of the information will be the same throughout the EU but we defer to the producers or to national schemes based on a colour code (as in the UK, for example) or anything else, as long as it does not hinder the smooth functioning of the internal market”, the Commissioner explained. In his view, colour codes have their benefits, but “they can lead to over-simplification” and infantilise the consumer. “We do not want to make decisions in place of the consumer”, Mr Kyprianou stressed.
On the origin labelling of products, the text clarifies current provisions and offers an additional tool: the mention “made in the EU”, which is an option rather than an obligation.
Another new aspect: the draft regulation envisages obligatory labelling of all foodstuffs which contain allergens (peanuts, milk, mustard, fish, etc.), whether or not they are pre-packaged, including those sold in restaurants and other catering establishments, or a clear indication by another means of the presence of the allergen concerned. This provision goes further than the current legislation, which is limited to pre-packaged foods.
At this stage the text does not contain any decrees on the labelling of alcohol, alcoholic beverages and spirits. Only beverages which are blended, such as the alcopops consumed by young people, are covered by the draft regulation. To those who wondered why the Commission ultimately abandoned its initial plans to include alcohol, Markos Kyprianou replied: “The Commission recognises that consumers must obtain information on alcoholic beverages from the labelling, but there are not currently any specific provisions on the information which should be provided. We will need to examine this in greater depth in order to define the nation of the obligatory information and determine whether they should be provided under specific legislation applicable to wine or via this new horizontal regulation. And the problems caused by excessive alcohol consumption will not be regulated through labelling. We need other measures to combat over-consumption as part of the alcohol strategy”. The draft food labelling regulation, like the regulation to harmonise nutritional and health claims in the EU, complement the voluntary approach adopted by the Commission to combat obesity, via the European action platform for nutrition, physical activity and health. (A.N.)