Industry bashes Commission proposals on food labelling[fr][de] 

The Commission adopted, on 30 January 2008, a proposal for a revision of the current food labelling rules. The proposal for a directive combines two previously separate regulations into one new one: general labelling rules and those on nutrition labelling.

"Food labels can have a huge influence on consumers' purchasing decisions," said Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou, presenting the proposal. "Confusing, overloaded or misleading labels can be more of a hindrance than a help to the consumer [...] Today's proposal aims to ensure that food labels carry the essential information in a clear and legible way so that EU citizens are empowered to make balanced dietary choices," he added. 

Regarding nutrition labelling, the directive, if adopted as such, would introduce:

• Mandatory front-of pack-labelling for a set of nutrients: energy, total fat, saturated fats, carbohydrates, sugars and salt;
• a minimum font size of 3 mm for lettering on the labels, and; 
• mandatory back-of-the-pack guideline daily amounts (GDAs) estimating average requirements for energy for men and women aged between 19-50, of normal weight and fitness (there are currently no GDAs for children).

These labelling requirements concern processed food and drinks products and exclude non-processed food such as meat and vegetables. 

Except for requiring the set of six nutrients on the front of packs, Kyprianou said that the member states are free to develop, together with stakeholders, national systems for the presentation of that information. Individual member states could thus opt for adding a visual representative element, such as the traffic-light system , next the simple numbers. 

Alcoholic drinks, except mixed products - qualified as alcopops - are currently excluded from the proposal. A Commission official referred to both the "complexity of production methods" and "political choice" as justification for allowing this derogation for wine, beer and spirits from the directive.

However, alcohol could be included in the directive after five years of further consultation once it has entered into force - forcing the alcohol industry to reveal the calorie content of its products.

Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou, anticipating the stakeholder reactions, said: "I'm sure there will be some criticism from both sides: From those who want us to do more and from those who want us to do less. But the fact is it is a balanced proposal. It combines the protection of consumers, of offering the consumers the possibility of making an informed choice, and of course protecting health." 

"A lot of what is proposed as additional information is questionable, not practical and would lead to more red tape," said MEP Horst Schnellhardt (EPP-ED). He criticises in particular the obligatory front labelling which he says "makes no difference" for the consumer. "If you are interested in the ingredients, you would certainly also look at the back." He also thinks "it is not feasible to determine the font size of a label [...] If there was to be an obligatory font size, it should at least be in line with a lighter set of information contents," he said.

The Confederation of Food and Drink Industries (CIAA) states it has "some serious concerns" about the proposal. It fears that if room is left for voluntary national schemes to co-exist it will "substantially weaken the Single Market and consequently the competitiveness of the food and drink industry. In addition, a proliferation of national schemes will lead to consumer confusion rather than consumer information." 

CIAA also thinks that the Commission proposal "tries to turn the back-of-pack into the front-of-pack by making six elements mandatory. This completely ignores the need of consumers for simple information and lacks any flexibility for smaller labels and smaller packages." As for the font size, CIAA agrees that legibility is a key issue for manufacturers, but that it is more than a simple question of font size. "It is about providing the right information while taking account of real-life constraints, such as package size and space for branding." 

For retail association EuroCommerce  too, "the proposal presented today raises serious concerns". In particular the organisation criticises the requirement for a minimum font size of 3 mm for all mandatory labelling provisions, as they "will create considerable costs for food businesses without any benefit for consumers. This new requirement will also lead to an increase of the size of the packages, which goes against all the efforts made by the various actors and contradicts the Commission initiatives to reduce packaging waste," argued EuroCommerce Secretary-General Xavier Durieu.

Durieu also regretted that the voluntary commitments on labelling made by food retail companies to the EU Nutrition Platform "have not been given more time to work before the EU legislates" and urged the legislator to focus more on education to contribute to the efforts made by the commercial sector. 

The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) welcomes the Commission's intention to impose binding rules on nutrition labelling for the food industry "to tackle the severe problem of obesity". BEUC however regrets that "the Commission is not offering consumers an EU-wide multiple colour-coding scheme that would help them judge at a glance the nutritional value of a particular food." 

"To be really meaningful, the information which is provided must be comprehensive and easily understandable and some improvements are clearly needed on these points," said Monique Goyens, BEUC Director General.

The European Heart Network (EHN) recognises that "the Commission proposal has gone a long way to meet health organisations' demands for a simplified front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme" but regrets that "the Commission has stopped short of prescribing a harmonised format which adds an interpretive element" such as traffic-light colour coding. 

"It is a pity that the Commission has shied away from proposing traffic lights as research in the UK shows that this option is very much appreciated by consumers and helps them make more informed food choices," said Susanne Logstrup, Director of the EHN. EHN would also have preferred "the mandatory front-of-pack labelling to declare transfats as part of saturated fats and be for added sugars rather than total sugars." The network also believes that the reference intake for sugar is too high and argues it should be no more than 50g of added sugars. 

The European Alcohol Policy Alliance (EuroCare) welcomes the inclusion of mixed alcoholic beverages (alcopops) into the proposal, but regrets the decision not to include all alcoholic beverages. "This is not in line with the Commission's obligation to seek to improve the coherence between policies that have an impact on alcohol related harm stated in the EU Alcohol Strategy," said EuroCare Secretary General, Mariann Skar. The alliance believes that consumers have a right to know what ingredients are contained in all alcoholic beverages as well as their nutritional value.