EU: MEPs set out clearer and more consistent food labelling rules

16-06-2010

Food labels should feature mandatory nutritional information and guideline daily amounts, according to draft EU legislation as adopted by MEPs on Wednesday. However, they rejected a proposal for 'traffic light' values to highlight the salt, sugar and fat content of processed foods.

Following a lively debate, MEPs voted for labelling rules that will enable consumers to make healthy, well-informed choices, while limiting as far as possible the administrative and financial burden on food businesses.

"Overall I am satisfied with the result of today's important vote on clearer food information rules. Personally, I am pleased that MEPs did not support traffic light labelling, but I also feel that we can continue to improve the current proposal to better inform consumers", commented Renate Sommer (EPP-ED, DE), who drafted Parliament's report.

Prominent, compulsory nutrition labelling

MEPs backed the European Commission proposal that quantities of fat, saturates, sugar and salt - as well as energy - must be indicated on the front of food packs. These should be accompanied by guideline daily amounts and expressed with per 100g or per 100ml values. They also voted for details of protein, fibres and transfats to be included elsewhere on the packaging. To ensure the labels are legible, MEPs want a wide range of factors to be taken into account.

Red light for colour values: simple or simplistic?

A clear majority of MEPs rejected a proposal by the S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups to introduce a traffic light system, which would have required certain processed foods to bear red, amber and green values to indicate high, medium or low levels of salt, sugar and fat. They also opposed such schemes being allowed to run in parallel at national level...

Source: MEPs set out clearer and more consistent food labelling rules
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