Strict food labelling rules will not apply to alcohol

RADICAL food labelling rules designed to give people more information and help in the fight against obesity were outlined yesterday in Brussels, but they will not apply to alcohol.

Once agreed by member states all pre-packaged food will have to show on the front the number of calories, the amount of fat, saturated fat and carbohydrates with specific reference to sugars and salt.

This will have to be in large enough letters to be easily read and must include how much of the recommended daily allowance of these elements a person gets from eating a portion of this food.

For the first time, alco-pops will have to show this information on the bottle, but spirits, wine and beer are excluded.

Announcing the draft rules, Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou defended the decision to give a derogation to alcohol at this time despite alcohol being responsible for damaging health.

“We need more time to come up with specific proposals for alcohol as it is not straightforward. After all, the problems are caused by drinking excessive alcohol and this will not be solved by labelling,” he said.

Legislation on clearly warning that pre-packed foods may contain allergens such as nuts will also be extended to cover unpacked food, and for the first time restaurants and other catering establishments, will have to give this information also.

There is a list of foods that people can be allergic to, including peanuts, milk, mustard and fish. “It is important that we extend the current warnings to restaurants as 70% of anaphylactic shocks happen when people are eating out and ingest something to which they are allergic,” said Mr Kyprianou.

A colour-coded system, such as the “traffic lights” adopted by some British outlets, was rejected because it could be an over-simplification.

“We should not underestimate the sophistication of the public, especially when they have the values and reference intake to help them make a choice. We want to avoid telling them what to eat — or there is a danger it could lead to us publishing a menu for the day,” he said.

The EU’s main consumer organisation, BEUC, however, was disappointed colour coding was not adopted. Its director Monique Goyens said scientific evidence showed colour coding schemes worked best for consumers in terms of indicating whether a food contained a high, medium or low quantity of elements.

She also regretted that food producers will not have to include protein and fibre in the list.

The rules, which will be mandatory, will have to be approved by the member states and the European Parliament. Large companies will have three years then to introduce the new labels, while smaller companies with less than 10 workers will have five years to comply.