Food labelling not enough to curb EU obesity trends 

Participants at a debate on whether better food information can help win the EU's war on obesity agreed that mandatory food labelling on the front of packages must be accompanied by appropriate consumer and nutrition education from an early age.

"Primary schools are victims of obesity," said Robert Madelin, the Commission's director general for health and consumer protection, in the debate organised by the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe on 15 April 2008. 

Food labelling should be accompanied by a "sustainable educational approach", he added. "Labelling is needed but in isolation it won't solve any problems,"agreed Dick Toet, the vice president of Unilever. 

The comments follow a recent Commission proposal on new food labelling legislation (see EurActiv 31/01/08) which suggests introducing mandatory 'front-of-pack' labelling for energy (calories), total fat, saturated fats, carbohydrates, sugars and salt. 

The proposal was welcomed by consumer organisations and health NGOs, while food and drink industries said it presented "some serious concerns" for the sector. 

One of the most controversial issues regarding food labelling is the possibility of adding a visual representative element, such as a traffic-light system, next to the nutrition table. In such a system, red would refer to products high in fat, sugar or salt, for example. 

Unilever firmly opposes the traffic-light system as most other agro-food multinationals do. "Red shouldn't be associated with food", Toet argued, saying it would lead consumers to exclude these products from their baskets. 

However, Dutch MEP Dorette Corbey, a member of Parliament's public health and food safety committee, believes the colour codes present a big opportunity for industry as they are "a good incentive for them to produce healthier food". She further thinks the introduction of colour codes is important so that special groups, with diseases like diabetes have access to clear information. 

Despite the alarming increase in obesity across Europe, Robert Madelin remained optimistic that "we are winning the war on obesity," saying more people are getting involved.

But the battle over the Commission's proposals is already being delayed, because the climate change package is taking up the time of Parliament's health committee. The real work on the dossier is due to start after the summer break and the first reading in the committee is scheduled for January 2009.