IBEC food director applauds EU’s rejection of ‘traffic light’ labelling

EUROPE got it right on all counts with its decisions on anti-obesity health promotional food labelling, according to one leading food industry figure.

Paul Kelly, director with IBEC’s Food and Drink Industry Ireland (FDII), has welcomed this week’s endorsement by MEPs of the voluntary Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) labelling, which is currently visible on 78% of Irish packaged foods.

This initial endorsement has come in the first reading vote on the Food Information to Consumers Proposal in the European Parliament.

Mr Kelly also applauded the MEPs’ rejection of ‘traffic lights’ and ‘hybrid scheme’ proposals.

Paul Kelly said: “The vote is a step in the right direction, not only for consumers, many of whom have become increasingly familiar with the scheme, but also for manufacturers who have implemented a Guideline Daily Amounts system in recent years.

“The food industry has always supported voluntary GDA labelling and our most recent survey found that 78% of branded food products now display the GDA information. MEPs have clearly rejected attempts to introduce both traffic lights and the so-called ‘hybrid scheme’, both of which fail to take into account the place of a particular food in the context of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. We welcome this development.”

The IBEC group believes that GDA food labelling is a better option than the ‘traffic light’ proposal, whereby the front labels on processed food products would carry green, amber and red codes on their energy, sugar, salt and fat content.

Many European industry leaders concur with FDII’s assessment.

Italian Agriculture Minister Giancarlo Galan is calling for even greater leeway with the proposed new anti-obesity regulations. He wrote to Brussels warning that any hysterical labelling could lead to the demise of confectioner Ferrero, one of Italy’s richest and most successful family-owned companies, and producers of Nutella and Kinder eggs.

A strong lobby of food industry leaders were in Brussels to warn the EU that the proposed traffic light labelling could lead to the closure of some convenience foods and soft drinks companies.

However, numerous European consumer groups accused MEPs of ignoring the needs of consumers and caving into food industry pressure.

Dave McCullough, of European Consumers’ Organisation BEUC, said: “Literally hundreds of lobbyists in Strasbourg this week were trying to persuade MEPs, which they obviously did, very successfully.”

In response, the EU food and drink industry confederation, CIAA, said the traffic light system “failed to take into account the place of a foodstuff in the context of a balanced and healthy lifestyle.”

The majority of MEPs rejected the traffic lights proposal, giving initial support instead to the GDA labelling approach.

They said beer, wine and spirits should be excluded from the nutritional labelling requirements, and preferred “clearly legible” content information in preference to specified restrictions on layout and minimum font sizes for labels.

Views are divided on proposals for “country-of-origin” labelling, a move some felt would be protectionist. Some debate is anticipated on whether or not individual EU states will be allowed to develop their own labelling regulations.

The labelling rules were first proposed in 2008. EU governments are not due to adopt their first-reading position until February 2011, with a second reading seemingly inevitable.

FDII’s Paul Kelly adds: “The GDA labelling is better for several reasons. Nutritional information is by its nature complex.

“The traffic lights are too simplified.”