Fear of information overload ahead of food labelling vote

MEPs divided over food labelling rules as industry calls for a harmonised system.

A long-running battle over the nutritional information that food companies must put on their products will come to a head next week when MEPs vote on food-information rules.

On 16 March, members of the European Parliament’s environment, public health and food safety committee will vote on plans to overhaul the information that companies are required to put on food packaging, such as fat, sugar and salt content.

Even before the European Commission published its draft regulation more than two years ago, the debate had been dogged by controversy over rival labelling schemes. The food industry favours labels based on guideline daily amounts (GDA), which tell consumers how many calories they get from a portion as a percentage of an adult’s daily needs. But health and consumer groups prefer ‘traffic-light’ labels, where fatty, sugary and salty foods are colour-coded red, and the healthiest options are green.

Mandatory v voluntary labels

The Commission’s proposal, which emerged in January 2008, steered clear of the argument by favouring neither approach. Renate Sommer, the German centre-right MEP in charge of drafting the Parliament’s position, also opposes making any scheme mandatory. But she has been confronted with amendments proposing both mandatory GDAs and traffic-light labels.

Sommer predicts that these ideas would not pass. “We will have no compromises on traffic lights or GDA labelling schemes,” she said.

Under Sommer’s proposals the industry could continue using GDAs on a voluntary basis. She argues that a voluntary approach is best because it would be less burdensome for small companies.

The MEP also thinks that there is “a severe lack of scientific background” on all kinds of food labelling schemes. “We don’t know whether consumers understand these schemes,” Sommer said.

The confederation of food and drink manufacturers in the EU, the CIAA, estimates that companies have spent €1 billion promoting GDAs.

Lisa McCooey, CIAA’s director of communications, said: “A lot of the larger companies have invested serious amounts of money. They have really tried and tested this.

“If we want to continue to have a healthy EU agrifood industry…it is better to have a clear and harmonised system.”

UK Socialist MEPs are leading the campaign for traffic-light labels, and that approach has also won support from BEUC, the European consumers’ organisation. Its spokeswoman, Sue Davies, said: “Traffic lights and key nutrients [information] allow consumers to make informed choices and compare between products.”

Display details

Also proving controversial is the information that goes on the front of the packet.

The Commission envisages requiring food manufacturers to display details about energy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar and salt, in letters at least three millimetres high.

Sommer said that “it makes no sense to overload consumers with information”. Instead, she proposes that only calories would go on the front of the pack. But she was not sure that she would win a majority on this point.

Next week’s vote, which will preceded by a debate on Monday, will clear the way for negotiations to begin with EU member states, with the aim of agreeing the final law. The full Parliament is due to vote on the law in June.

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