Labelling plan watered down
Meanwhile, an Irish bid to improve food labelling has been shot down by the Government.
The legislative bid was led by Senator Feargal Quinn, but junior minister Tom Hayes, on behalf of the Government, poured cold water on it, citing the danger of an Irish solo run hurting our food exports, preferring instead to wait for the EU to grind out a new labelling directive.
Senator Quinn said Ireland, as a nation with a strong food reputation, should move to equip consumers with all available information on the source of the food they consume, in the aftermath of the horsemeat crisis bringing food provenance to the fore.
He said the horsemeat scandal shook the confidence and trust of consumers, and they have a right to know where food ingredients have been sourced, manufactured, and packed — and the EU has been slow to make this progress.
He said a shopper should not need a degree in food science to understand food labelling — such as the little oval diagram on a litre of milk with the IE, 1419 and EC codes.
Another senator with a food industry background, Mary Ann O’Brien, supported the idea of Ireland leading the law-making in food labelling.
She said she would love to be in the drinks business, because one does not need detailed labelling, with EU regulations allowing for many flavourings, additives and preservatives to be added to wine which do not have to be listed. She called for Ireland to be first in Europe to talk to the EU about labelling for alcoholic drinks.
Senator Susan O’Keeffe, who has a degree in food science, pointed out that 90% fat-free labelling means a product is 10% fat, which is quite high.
Senator John Crown said Ireland should be way out ahead of the curve. He said customers in Europe for Irish food will be reassured if Ireland sets the bar high, while making Brand Ireland food wholesome, healthy, traceable, back-to- nature, less processed and with known provenance.
Senator Catherine Noone warned that low fat labels may mean high sugar content.
Senator Paschal Mooney said the food industry has resisted using the word “salt”, opting instead for sodium.
Senator Quinn’s work on food labelling won’t go to waste, if the Government delivers on a promise made by Minister of State Hayes to ensure that the former supermarket entrepreneur’s points on food labelling will be incorporated in future consideration of food safety by the Oireachtas.
Meanwhile, Irish consumers who worry about obesity can look forward to imported British product labels which have traffic light colour-coding and show how much of the maximum daily intake of fat, saturated fat, salt, sugar, and calories is in a 100g portion.
Supermarkets will use it on their own-label products, alongside the six manufacturers of more than 60% of the food sold in the UK.
