€1bn campaign to block food labelling

THE food industry has spent €1 billion lobbying politicians to block an easy-to-understand labelling system, according to an expert group.

Consumer groups and surveys say that a ‘traffic light’ system – showing shoppers at first glance how high the food is in sugar, salt and fats – is the easiest to understand.

But the massive food industry prefers a system based on percentages per portion, that Labour MEP Nessa Childers and consumer bodies say leaves shoppers perplexed.

Industry has been pushing for a Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) system that will instead express in numbers the amount of the nutrients per portion, and the portion will change according to the food.

Food and Drink Industry Ireland, part of IBEC, said it provides consumers with clear nutritional labelling and have been used voluntarily by the industry for some time.

FDII director, Paul Kelly said, “Guideline daily amounts give consumers simple nutritional information on key nutrients. The traffic light system is a subjective assessment of the nutrient content of 100g of a food and does not provide consumers with the information needed to choose a balanced diet”.

But a report from Corporate Europe Observatory, a body that monitors lobbying of EU institutions, said surveys show consumers and nutritionists favour the traffic light system.

“The industry had spent more than €1 billion to kill the traffic light system.

“They clearly feel it would damage their profitability.

“Public health and environmental concerns should prevail over vested industry interests”, said researcher Nina Holland.

She added that it appears that the industry could win the vote in the European Parliament on Thursday on a new EU-wide food labelling system, having drowned out the message from public health campaigners on a scale of 100 to one.

Ms Childers said she has been lobbied more on this issue by the food industry than on any of the other pieces of legislation going through the parliament over the past year.

“I have been shocked at the level of industry lobbying on this issue.

“I have been lobbied ten times by the food industry for every one approach I received from consumer or health groups”, she said.

Ms Childers added that her fellow Irish MEPs must resist the massive industry drive and take what she described as a pro-health stance in Thursday’s vote.

“The red, amber and green system is simple and easily understood, that if adopted will go a long way towards helping tackle Europe’s ticking obesity, diabetes, stoke and heart disease time-bomb,” she said.