European lawmakers approve new "flawed" food labeling rules

European lawmakers gave the final nod on Wednesday to long-debated rules on food labeling aimed at giving consumers more and better information on the nutritional and energy content of products. The goal of the new regulation, which includes specific requirements for displaying information, is to make food labels more understandable and relevant to consumers and to help them make more informed buying decisions.

Some groups beg to differ, however. The consumer group Foodwatch, for instance, claims the food industry has successfully pushed through most of its demands – at the expense of consumers. "The labeling swindle continues," Foodwatch spokeswoman Christine Gross told Deutsche Welle.

Under the newly approved rules, country of origin, the energy content and amounts of fat, saturated fats, carbohydrates, sugar, protein and salt must be stated in a legible tabular form on the packaging, all together in the same field of vision. And the information must be expressed per 100 grams or 100 milliliters.


According to the World Health Organization, obesity has tripled in Europe since the 1980s, with rates still rising sharply, particularly among children. It is already responsible for 2 to 8 percent of health costs and 10 to 13 percent of deaths, depending on the region, according to the organization.


Unfortunately, say activists, the new EU regulation doesn't include the "traffic light" coloring scheme, already used by some UK retailers. Under the system, red, amber and green warning labels distinguish foods that are high in fat, saturated fats, sugar or salt. Green means "low" content, amber "medium" and red "high."

Corporate Europe Observatory, a Brussels-based transparency non-governmental organization, claims that European food and drink industries spent around 1 billion euros (US $1.4 billion) opposing the traffic-light system, believed to be one of the most expensive lobbying campaigns ever mounted in the EU.

For more: European lawmakers approve new food labeling rules | Business | Deutsche Welle | 07.07.2011