Food labels are destined to become clearer and to contain more relevant information than ever before if a law proposed by the European Commission last year obtains the blessing of the European Council and the European Parliament in the very near future.
This law will provide for a significant overhaul of the current rules regulating the type of information that manufacturers are obliged to give on food labels. In turn, this will mean that consumers will be in a position to make more informed choices when purchasing their daily needs.
The proposed law obliges manufacturers to provide nutrition information at the front of the package of all pre-packaged foods. The consumer would thus be able to easily find information on the product's energy, fat, saturated fat, salt and carbohydrates with specific reference to the content in sugars. These will be expressed in terms of per 100ml/100g or per portion.
The proportion of these elements to the reference intakes, such as recommended daily allowance must be indicated. Such information must be presented in a legible way and a minimum text size for such information is being proposed. There must also be a significant contrast between the writing and the label's background.
Only a number of products such as unprocessed foods or foods that do not have high energy levels, like teas, coffees, herbs, spices and vinegars are exempt from this obligation.
The new rules also extend the existing requirements for allergen labelling in the case of pre-packed foods to cover non pre-packed food. This means that food served by restaurants or catering establishments will also have to indicate the presence of allergens, to better protect those who are susceptible to reactions to such products.
Identifying salient information on a food label is often no easy task for consumers. In a day and age when dietary choices are given prime importance by consumers, the provision of clear and salient nutritional information is a sine qua non requirement.
Often faced with different products portraying information on their labels in different ways, most of which is often illegible or confusing, this proposed law, if adopted, will surely signify a huge step forward. However, it is not only consumers that stand to gain. Indeed, these new rules ought to be seen as giving rise to a win-win situation since they will eradicate existing national divergences and provide European traders with the opportunity of competing on a level playing field.
Dr Vella Cardona is a practising lawyer and a freelance consultant in EU, intellectual property, consumer protection and competition law. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.
mariosa@vellacardona.com