24/01/2022

Have your say! European Commission public consultations on nutrition labelling & nutrient profiles

Until 7 March, the European Commission is consulting stakeholders on two public consultations:

All stakeholders, as well as citizens, are invited to provide their feedback to these consultations!

Public consultations are preceded by an initial roadmap that stakeholders can provide feedback to. While the links to the two initiatives mentioned above vary given the different content of the respective roadmaps, the public consultation questionnaire is the same and it is up to the respondent to assess which questions are most relevant to them.

The consultation revision on the rules on information provided to consumers focuses on nutrition labelling, origin labelling and date marking. IFOAM Organics Europe had provided feedback to the roadmap regarding this initiative stressing that a nutrition label is not the most effective in changing consumer behaviour. Consumers must be given the tools to analyse and understand that information through nutrition education and awareness raising. IFOAM Organics Europe also expressed its concern related to the NutriScore as this label does not take into account the naturalness of food products.

The consultation about establishing nutrient profiles is interesting, as nutrient profiles have been on the Commission’s agenda for quite a while. They were first mentioned as a legislative undertaking at the time of the publication of Regulation 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. Establishing nutrient profiles means that not every type of food will be able to bear nutrition and health claims. For instance, IFOAM Organics Europe believes that ultra-processed foods should not be allowed to bear claims.

For more information about this and IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue, please contact [email protected]. Do note that we prioritise our members’ requests.

For information about what you can gain from being a member, read our membership page and contact [email protected].

 
IFoam
I accept I do not accept