EU proposes new food labeling requirements to fight obesity

According to a statement issued this week by the European Commission, it has adopted a proposal to change food labeling requirements. From the Boston Globe:

“With Europe fast catching up to the United States in obesity tables, the EU health commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, warned of an "emerging health threat" and of the need for consumers to eat better.”

The food labeling plans are “designed to help consumers reject junk food and choose a healthier diet.”

“Under the proposals put forward yesterday, six measures will have to appear on the front of packages of food giving information on energy, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar, and salts. The labels, which will have to be prominent, will also indicate what percentage of advisable daily intake the measures represent.”

Link to EU Commissioner's proposal

Consumer groups and industry groups attacked the proposal on two fronts. The “consumer group Which?, based in Britain, attacked the proposal as insufficient given the scale of the problem.” They recommend a red-yellow-green traffic light system to indicate whether fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt levels are high, medium or low.

See an example of the Traffic Light Label System.

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“The group's chief policy adviser, Sue Davies said, ‘…traffic lights are the best way to help busy shoppers identify healthy choices quickly and easily.’” She concluded that the European Commission’s proposal has “…ignored what works best for consumers and opted for what works best for some sections of the food industry."

Link to Which? Group criticism

The same story on EUObserver.com includes similar criticism by the European Consumers' Association (BEUC). "To be really meaningful," said Monique Goyens, the director general of BEUC, "the information which is provided must be comprehensive and easily understandable and some improvements are clearly needed on these points."

Link to EUObserver.com

Link to BEUC Statement on Food Labeling

Thank you to William Mitchell College of Law student Joan Pearson for preparing this post