European Parliament adopts Food Information to Consumers legislation
On July 6 the European parliament adopted the compromise with the Council on the proposal for a regulation on the provision of food information to consumers with 606 votes in favour, 46 against and 26 abstentions.
The vote is the culmination of some very heated debates over a number of contentious issues.
To the great disappointment of health advocates, alcohol has been once again exempted from the obligation to list its ingredients and provide nutrition information; consumers will still be unable to know exactly what is in wine, beer or spirits or how many calories they are consuming.
“Taking into account the specific nature of alcoholic beverages” the Regulation invites “the Commission to analyse further the situation concerning the information to be provided on beverages containing more than 1,2 % by volume of alcohol. The Commission should, taking into account the need to ensure coherence with other relevant Union policies, produce a report within three years of the entry into force of this Regulation concerning the application of the requirements to provide information on ingredients and nutrition information to alcoholic beverages “in particular, by the requirement to provide the information on the energy value, and the reasons justifying possible exemptions, taking into account the need to ensure coherence with other relevant Union policies”.
“The Commission shall accompany that report by a legislative proposal, if appropriate, determining the rules for a list of ingredients or a mandatory nutrition declaration for those products”.
The Commission, after consultation with stakeholders and the Member States, should consider the need for a definition of beverages such as ‘alcopops’, which are specifically targeted at young people’.
(Recital 40 and article 16.4 Food information to consumers )
The Council expects to adopt the proposal at the beginning of October. Before the end of October it could be published in the Official Journal. The food companies will have three years to adapt to most of the requirements and five years for the ruled on nutrition values.
After the vote, Mr. John Dalli, the EUCommissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, declared:
“Of course, the outcome of today's decision was the result of compromise. I, therefore, regret to note that in some key areas the regulation does not go as far as we would have liked it to. For instance, the initial proposal of the commission for nutrition labelling on the front of packages has not been endorsed. The framework for the voluntary inclusion of nutrition information on the front of pack is, nevertheless, a step in the right direction.
I also regret to see that alcoholic beverages have been at this stage exempted from the ingredient and nutrition labelling requirements. I will however strive to ensure that we strike the right balance when we re-examine the issue in the near future".
This was echoed by one of the shadow Rapporteurs working on the file Carl Schlyter (Greens/EFA) ‘(...) we are very unhappy about full exemption for alcoholic beverages especially since many are unaware of the high calorie content of alcoholic drinks’.
Eurocare Press Release: What’s NOT on the bottle? Exemption of alcohol from Food Information to Consumers Provision
External Links:
European Commission: Statement by Commissioner John Dalli: The adoption of Food Information regulation is good news for consumers
Greens/ EFA: New food label rules a step forward but clearer, more comprehensive labelling elusive
Euronews: EU to toughen food labelling rules
Euronews: Days of wine and labels
Euroactive: EU food labelling rules ready, new round to start
European Voice: Support for deal on food labelling rules
The new labelling rules:
Compulsory nutrition values: energy content, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, protein, salt must be stated in a legible tabular form on the packaging; all the information has to be expressed either per 100g or 100ml. Portion values might be provided on a voluntary basis
The information provided will have to have a mandatory minimum font size. However, to the disappointment of health campaigners it will not be necessary to place it at the front of the pack.
Transfats are not included in the current provisions, the European Commission is due to investigate different options to reduce unhealthy transfats in food and produce a report within three years.
Mandatory information on allergens on pre-packed foods, non-pre-packed foods and foods sold in restaurants. Countries can decide individually on the format of the information on food stuff sold in cafes and restaurants.
Compulsory country-of-origin labelling for meat of: pork, sheep, goat and poultry
Under the existing legislation such information is already required from such foods as beef, honey, olive oil, fresh fruits and vegetables. The Commission will have to introduce rules for implementation of this provision within two years of the regulation’s entry into force. In the future the obligation to indicate country of origin might be extended to other categories of food i.e. when meat used as an ingredient in processed food. However, this will have to be preceded by impact assessments.
Imitation foods; where an ingredient that would normally be expected has been replaced, this will have to be clearly stated on the front of pack in a prominent font size and next to the brand name.
This will ensure that shopped are not misled by the appearance, description or image representation of food packaging, for instance meat consisting of combined meat parts will have to be labelled ‘formed meat’
Guideline daily amounts will remain voluntary provisions nevertheless they will become more consistent to facilitate consumers’ choice and easy comparison.
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