Euro-MP Jill Evans has welcomed the outcome of today's Strasbourg vote on nutrition and health claims on food. Speaking after the vote Jill Evans (Plaid Cymru, Wales) said:
"The Parliament has today voted to strengthen consumer protection by ensuring that health claims made for food products are both clear and reliable. After a disastrous first reading in which the Parliament caved to the lobbying of the food industry by deleting the main provisions, today's decision will help prevent consumers from being misled by health claims on unhealthy foods (1).
"The food industry will now have to stop misleading consumers with false promises. Health claims for food should only be made if they are based on scientific evidence and if the message has been scrutinised by EFSA, the EU food watchdog, and authorised by the EU Commission.
"I welcome the inclusion of brand names (like 'Slimfast') in the final regulation. It's also important that health claims on alcoholic drinks are banned so we won't see orange flavour alcopops advertising themselves as a healthy drink 'high in Vitamin C'.
"We are introducing fair rules for food marketing and guaranteeing reliable information for consumers. Food manufacturers spend 1,000 times more on marketing than governments spend on fighting obesity. It's time we redressed the balance. It's essentially about health. The new legislation will prevent food which is high in sugar, fat or salt, from carrying misleading messages suggesting that it will improve your health.
"In cases like these, only nutritional information (like "contains Vitamin C") will be allowed, provided that a warning message (like "high in sugar") is given at the same time, and with the same prominence."
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Notes
(1) In last year's first reading, the European Parliament defended the food industry's position, by deleting the core provisions of the proposal, aimed at protecting consumers from misleading claims. The EP today agreed to a sound compromise on the basis of negotiations with the Council over the past few weeks.
